The Big Move
by bballgirl11
Summary: When Rose Matlin learns that her family will be moving to Japan for her father's new job in a year, she is stunned. Rose struggles to leave her life in Boston behind as she moves on to begin as a First Year at Shutoku High with only her family, decent Japanese, and total love of basketball to keep her afloat.
1. The Big Announcement

***I own nothing but the OCs. Thanks for reading!***

 **The Big Move**

 _Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything._

 _-George Bernard Shaw_

 **Chapter One**

"Upset" can't even begin to describe how Rose Matlin felt when she heard the news. _Distressed?_ No. _Enraged?_ Close, but no cigar. In actuality, her feelings at the time could in no way be captured by just one word. All Rose knew was that she felt like she was dying; she felt on the verge of a waterfall of tears, like she was experiencing the worst period cramps in the history of period cramps, and like she had all of her breath violently strangled out of her lungs, all at once. The world that she once knew and took for granted was falling apart.

Rose just found out that she and her family would be moving to Japan in a year thanks to her father's work, and that they would stay there permanently. Rose loved America. She loved her suburban neighborhood outside of Boston. She loved going to sports games and cheering loudly and unabashedly for her favorite teams. Rose had only been outside of the U.S. a handful of times, but only on family vacations. She was sure that there were plenty of people who would kill to be in her position, but it was a tough pill for her to swallow, knowing that after her freshman year at her local public school, she would have to leave all of her friends and local family members behind in order to move to a completely foreign land.

The day after her father sat her and her little brother, Mikey, down to tell them the news, the 14 and 12 year-old, respectively, were sent off to a Japanese tutor in Boston, supposedly the best in the city. Rose had taken French in school for the past 8 years and still knew close to nothing. She liked to blame that fact on the awful language teaching system that America offers children, but deep down, she knew she had to put some of the blame on herself. After all, maybe if she had worked a little harder in pre-k instead of sticking French fries up her nose to show off her walrus impression, maybe she would now fluently _parle francais_. She felt that there was no way she could learn Japanese in a mere year; they didn't even use the same alphabet! Nonetheless, she decided that the least she could do was try her best in the time that she was given.

Her teacher, a tiny old woman by the name of Abe Akemi (last name first, she learned, was proper etiquette in Japan), with her long, gray hair tied up in a low bun. With Abe- _sensei_ , as Rose learned to call the elder Japanese woman, she learned that there were a _ton_ of rules in Japan that extended beyond the language itself. Things as seemingly simple as taking your shoes off after entering a home baffled and confused Rose at first, but as she and her family immersed themselves (in Rose's case, reluctantly) in Japanese culture and language.

"I thought you'd be more into this, Rose! Or should I say, uh…" she leafed through an English to Japanese dictionary that she had started carrying everywhere in her purse until she found what she was looking for. She pointed aggressively to a word on the page.

"…Aha! _Musume_!"

Rose facepalmed. "Mom, you're so embarrassing! God!" she paused before asking, "and why did you think _that_ , anyway?"

"Well, you and your brother, you especially, have always loved those cartoons. You know, the ones with the violent, screaming kids? They have huge eyes and say ' _Oh_! _Ah! Wah!'_ and-"

"Mother, please stop while you are _not_ ahead," Rose interrupted. "First of all, it's called anime. Secondly, the show is Naruto, and lastly, they don't sound like that! Plus, why would watching anime make me an expert on Japan? Not all Japanese people are Naruto! They don't all do Sexy Jutsus and run up trees using impressive chakra control!"

"Run up trees…" Rose's father repeated. He sighed whimsically. "I remember when you were in that phase. You would run up our big old oak in the backyard with some chalk in your hand and mark your highest spot. It was always just adorable when you did that little hand sign before running at that tree, you always looked so darn serious! Those were the days!"

A look of pure horror covered Rose's face. She stared first at her father, at his shiny balding head and bespectacled face, at his short, graying beard and pale skin. She then looked at her mother, a pretty woman in her early forties, seven years younger than her father. She had bright, green eyes, short blonde hair, a youthful face, and was even paler than Rose's father, thanks to her polish ancestry. Rose sighed. Her parents were so embarrassing, so _American_. And so was she. She glanced over at her little brother. Mikey was furiously mashing the buttons on his Nintendo DS, his long, skinny legs bouncing up and down on the floor and his big, brown eyes trained on the double screens. He had dark brown hair and was skinny as a twig. Rose had a feeling that he'd do pretty well in Japan.

With only a groan in response to her goofy parents, she ran from the living room, leaving her family member sitting reminiscing or playing games on the couch, as she sprinted up to her room on the third floor of her house. She was gasping for air as she attempted to wash her hands of her parents' craziness. As she washed, she looked into the mirror at her own reflection and grimaced. There was no way she'd fit in at Japan. Rose took a moment to study her own face. She saw light, almost golden brown eyes gazing bad at her critically. She saw thick, dark eyebrows and breast-high light brown hair with natural blonde streaks. If she smiled creepily huge like the weirdo that she sometimes tended to be, she saw a little dimple that appeared at the top of her right cheek. She thought it was embarrassing, since people seem to find lower dimples cute and normal. Then, she glanced down at her body and scowled. She was certain that the Japanese would find her chubby. She wasn't overweight, but she surely wasn't a stick like her brother. Rose Matlin was a sports fanatic, and she had the strong, body of an athlete. Still she couldn't help but be embarrassed by her thunder thighs and thicker limbs. She wished more than anything to be taller than her 5'7" frame, which may have been tall for some, but wasn't enough for her. She wanted to be Michael Jordan. Every night she did the same thing that he did as a child and sprinkled some salt in her tennis shoes in a desperate and last resort effort to reach 6 feet tall.

It didn't work.

Rose was done analyzing herself. She hustled to her room, grabbed a worn, leather basketball, and jogged down the steps and out her back door to her basketball hoop in her backyard. Rose _loved_ basketball. She lived for it. She had played since the 3rd grade and as only a freshman in her Boston high school, worked her way into the Varsity starting lineup. Rose frowned as she wondered if they even played basketball in Japan. She assumed that all they had was sumo-wrestling and ninja training. Clearly, she wasn't as into researching the country and its customs as her parents were.

She shook her head as she began to dribble her ball on the concrete of her driveway. The sky behind her glowed stunning shades of pink, gold, and orange, as the sun slowly set and day turned to night. Rose took the ball in her right hand and tried to focus on her form as she stood right in front of the hoop, shot, and snapped her wrist, making sure to follow through. The ball swished through the net. When she stepped back a few feet and added her guide hand, making sure to actually bend her knees and jump this time, she frowned as the ball rolled around the rim and out. Something with her form was off. She got close to the basket again and dropped her guide arm, going back to square one. She stayed out there until the sky was only lit by a smattering of stars and Boston's bright city lights in the distance. Rose sat down on the concrete and crossed her legs, then folded her hands in her lap. Whenever she finished practicing, she liked to take a moment to become one with the hoop and ball. She did this nearly every day for the rest of her last year in America.

 ***Author's Note: The KnB characters will begin appearing at Chapter 4. After that, they'll always be there, I swear! These first few chapters are mostly so you can get to know the OC. So don't worry, things will begin to heat up soon enough. Thanks for reading :) Please leave reviews, I'd love to know what you think and what you think/hope will happen!***


	2. Leaving On A Jet Plane

_I don't know what I'm going to do tomorrow. I just know for sure I'm going to keep playing basketball._

 _Kevin Durant_

 **Chapter 2**

Before she knew it, it was the night before her plane would take off, leaving her Boston life, the only one she's ever known, behind forever. That night, as she meditated on the hot slab of concrete under her butt, she cried. She let out all of the emotion she had been trying to hold in for the year, crying, screaming, and moaning as she said goodbye. Her parents watched from their bedroom window.

"Should we do something?" Rose's mother asked worriedly.

"No," her father replied firmly. "Let's just let her be."

Mikey pulled back his bedroom curtain to see what all of the ruckus was about. "Ugh," he groaned as he laid eyes on his big sister, "what a baby!" He rolled his eyes before bringing his attention back to his Nintendo DS.

When Rose woke up the next morning, her limbs were splayed about on the concrete and her head was tucked under her basketball. Her eyes were closed when she felt something hit her head.

"Mikey get out of here, it's too early!" she whined and rolled over. She was then hit again with another small, hard object.

"OKAY THAT'S IT! MIKEY YOU DO THAT AGAIN AND I'LL CRUSH YOU!" When her eyes snapped open, Rose noticed two things. The first was that she was outside. The second was that an evil squirrel was pelting her with acorns… on purpose! She suddenly hoped that the squirrels in Japan weren't this _evil._

Japan…today was the day. Rose pushed herself up off of the ground and winced as her body cracked. She stretched as she made her way towards her home's back door. All of her bags were already packed and ready to go by then. Rose ran up to her now empty room and took one last look. She then when into the bathroom to brush her teeth and attempt to tame her bird's nest of hair before tying it up in a low ponytail and trudging slowly down the steps. She took a second on each creaky wooden step, counting them until she reached the first floor where her family was waiting.

"Ready to go?" her father asked.

"Yeah," Rose responded with a sigh and sad eyes cast downward, "just one more thing."

She ran outside to grab her basketball off of her beloved concrete driveway, the place where she first learned basketball and grew to love the game. Spontaneously, she knelt down to kiss the concrete below. From inside the house, Mikey stood watching with a peanut butter sandwich in one hand and his DS in the other. "That's freaking disgusting!" he shouted.

"Young man, watch your language! And stop shouting, you ass!" his mother yelled back.

Soon after her mother uttered these inspirational words, Rose was back inside.

"Well, that's everything," she said. Her shoulders were slumped over and she looked almost too tired to cry and this point. "Let's just go."

And with that, Rose Matlin had her luggage in two hands and her basketball stuck under her armpit as she walked out of the door of the house she'd spent all 15 years of her life in, turning her back on everything she'd ever know. _Goodbye, America… Hello, Japan._


	3. A Memorable Plane Ride

_"Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again."_

 _-Buddha_

 **Chapter 3**

 **Rose's POV**

Sleeping on a slab of concrete was a bad choice. This 13 hour and 40 minute flight is killing me, and my body is practically screaming out in discomfort as I'm stuffed into my small seat in the back of a huge airplane heading from Boston to Tokyo. I glance over to my right at my brother, who's staring intently at his Nintendo DS. Why did he get the window seat if he isn't even going to look up from his device?! I can't believe how unfazed he looks by this tiny space, though. His legs are even longer than mine. I feel tears come to my eyes as I realize how much it sucks to have your little brother already be taller than you.

"Are a few more inches too much to ask for?" I mutter jealously. Everyone knows that height helps a lot in basketball, especially if you want to play after high school. I won't give up, though. I may not be the tallest girl out there, but I can't give up on my lifelong dream to play Division 1 basketball in college. It's mostly because of this dream that I'm so reluctant to move across the world. Getting recruited is hard enough in the US, so how was anyone ever going to hear about me when I'm all the way over in Japan? I groan in frustration as I slump forward, slamming my head on the seat in front of me. I guess I just need to work harder. I can't let anything get in my way!

"What's wrong, Rose?" my mom asks me.

"Nothing! I'm fine, totally cool, A-Okay!" I reply hastily. My dream of playing college ball isn't always the best topic of conversation for my mom and me. My mom wants me to focus on my future and what I want to be in life, what I'm going to do after college. She and I both know that I won't be playing in the WNBA, I'm not _that_ delusional! But whenever I talk about playing after high school, she seems to tense up and never fails to cut in and remind me that school comes first. It's tough… I know that she's only looking out for me and is trying to be realistic, but sometimes I feel like she doesn't think I can do it. I'll prove her wrong. I'll prove everyone wrong!

Mom just shrugs and goes back to reading her book as I rub my bruising noggin. I shift my attention to what school in Japan will be like. I've got to be honest, I'm _extremely_ nervous. I remember a poster on Sensei Abe's wall showing a list of the 34 smartest countries in the world. America tied for 22nd on the list, Japan…3rd. Oh god, I'm gonna die! I did well enough back home, but I'm about to live in the 3rd smartest country in the _world_ and I've only taken one year of Japanese. Suddenly, I feel the world around me getting darker and next thing I know, I dissolve into nothingness.

…

My eyes slowly flutter open as I wake up groggily. My head is lolling to the side on a very uncomfortable pillow and my limbs are splayed everywhere.

"What happened?" I croak out.

"You passed out, for some reason. You've been out cold for four hours," Mikey informed her. "And could you move your head? You're crushing me." I lifted my head and saw that he was still staring at his DS. My head was hurting even more, now. I _knew_ that pillow weren't supposed to be that bony! I settle back into my chair and look to my left at my mom, who's now dead asleep. Since the plane seats come in rows of three, my dad is sitting somewhere alone a few rows ahead, surely reading a mystery novel or is out like a light.

"Four hours, huh? Wish it could've been longer…" I muse to myself.

"Me too," my mom mumbles quietly… Wait a minute!

"Hey, I thought you were asleep!" I nearly shout at her in indignation, with tick marks popping up on my head. All of a sudden, she starts "snoring" in an attempt to convince me that she is in fact fast asleep. I clench my fists and growl at her.

"Come on, Rose, we're in public. Stop embarrassing yourself," Mikey says. He's acting exasperated but I can tell by his slight smile that he finds my antics at least _slightly_ amusing. I sigh and pout a little, crossing my arms and pursing my lips as I sink into my seat. Who is going to put up with my weirdness now? Sure, my family is forced to, but my friends at home were so understanding and liked me for who I am. Everyone in Japan is going to think I'm a freak! Well, maybe there's _one_ person who will talk to me...

I reach under my seat to get my carryon, a blue backpack full of everything that'll hopefully keep me busy for the other 9 or so hours of this flight. I dig through it and pull out _War and Peace_ and a stack of colorful envelopes bound together with a hair tie. My mom gave me her old copy of _War and Peace_ from high school. I guess she liked it so much, she decided to keep it. She told me it'd be the perfect book for a flight like this, since it's the longest she's ever read. It can't be _that_ long though, right? I tuck the envelopes into the pouch of the seat in front of me and carefully leaf through the big book, being sure not to accidently read any spoilers before actually starting the book. I just want to find out how many pages there actually are. But as the numbers kept climbing higher with the book seemingly never ending, I decide to stop and just find out the fun way, by reading the whole thing through! This is going to be _great_!

…

I have been reading this God-forsaken book for the past seven hours nonstop and I have hardly made a dent. I decide to be brave and see if I look as bad as I feel right now. I pull out my phone and slide up to activate the camera, and as I press the little button that will make the camera face forward, it seems like time has slowed and everything is in slow motion. The split second I see my face on the screen, I scream. I look worse, oh so much worse, that I feel. I don't just have dark circles under my eyes, it actually looks like I was punched by Rocky and got two nasty black eyes. My eyes themselves are bloodshot and remind me of a wild animal with rabies. There's even some drool coming out of my mouth to enhance my look as a rabid, bloodthirsty animal. My hair is sticking straight up like Marge Simpson's, and it looks about as wild as Einstein's. George Washington's rotted old body looks better than I do.

Suddenly I realized that everyone on the plane, save my dad, who sleeps like a rock, is staring at me thanks to my piercing shriek. When they all look at me, they start screaming too. One mother covers her baby's eyes. A man with bulging muscles and tattoos passes out. My face is burning from embarrassment, but I can't blame them for their reactions. I stand up in my seat.

"There's nothing to see here! Please avert your eyes and forget that this ever happened. I apologize for my outburst. Good day." After my announcement, I sit back down like nothing happened. Slowly, everything seems to go back to normal. I decide to then fix my hair and try and pinch some life back into my face, and eventually I don't look as horrifying. When I look to my right, Mikey is shaking like a leaf and his DS is closed in his lap. I think he'll have nightmares for a while. I think my mom is just embarrassed. She mutters something about me needing a haircut and then goes back to her book.

Speaking of books, I pick up _War and Peace_ from where it's fallen on the dirty floor of the plane. After dusting it off a little with my hands, I decide to actually see how many pages there are. I flip through the pages…and flip…and flip…and keep flipping…still flipping…until finally I see it, in the top right hand corner, the last page, number 1,225. I blink. Wait, what? I look at the number again.

`"Holy sh-!" everything goes black.

…

So I passed out again, but this time, only for an hour. I have decided that this has been more than enough excitement for the day. There's only about an hour left in the flight now, so I decide to look through those letters I had left in the pouch earlier. As I slip off the rubber band, I am struck again by how perfectly neat each note is. The handwriting is perfect, especially compared to my messy scrawl. I love how colorful every envelope is- neon this, neon that. Every single letter inside, though, is pink. I've never been much of a girly-girl, but the color has grown on me.

On our first lesson, Sensei Abe told me that the best way to learn a new language is to speak it with a native speaker. She then gave me a penpal, her daughter's daughter, who happened to be the same age as me. At first I was reluctant. Having to write a letter every week for a whole year sounded like a huge pain in the butt. I was also embarrassed because my Japanese seriously sucked at the time (I knew nothing!) so I feared she'd laugh at me. But with each passing weak, I thoroughly enjoyed sending letters to my penpal. Her English is really good and she has helped me immensely with my Japanese. She seriously is a saint for suffering through my early google-translated letters that, looking back now, were totally nonsensical. I wonder if I'll finally get to meet her in person.

My penpal's latest letter came in just before we left for our flight. I carefully open the neon green envelope and unfold the neat, bubblegum pink piece of stationary inside.

 _Hi Rose-chan!_

 _I am guessing that you are on your flight to Tokyo right now. I hope that you are having fun! I know that it is a long trip (I Googled it :P) but I know that you can make it through. Just don't cause too much trouble! Knowing you, you'll probably do something goofy, right?_

 _It's funny, I can't believe that we have never met. This past year being your penpal has been amazing. I feel like you know and understand me better than a lot of my friends here, isn't that crazy? I am so glad that we are friends, Rose-chan! I hope that you like it here._

 _I have been very busy getting ready for school. I know that you still can't believe that our school year begins in April and that our high school is three years instead of your four, but you will have to get used to it; you still have so much to learn! I can't believe that we are already in high school (or as you call it "sophomore year")! I am still sad that we will not be at the same school, but you have to promise to call me as soon as you get to Japan! I can't wait to finally meet you and introduce you to my super-cute boyfriend You'll like him a lot, but hopefully not too much, right? Hehe!_

 _Make sure that Mikey takes a break from those games once in a while, it's bad for his eyes. And please tell your parents I said "Kon'nichiwa!"_

 _Your Friend,_

 _Sa-chan_


	4. First Day! April Fools?

_"I kid around a lot, but pranks are not my best strength!"_

 _-Betty White_

 **Chapter 4:**

 **Rose's POV**

It's April 1st, my first day of school at Shutoku High in Japan. How ironic that my first day happens to be on April Fools Day! Having my first day of a school year in April sure does feel like a joke. Do they even celebrate April Fools in Japan? I guess I'll have to find out for myself… heh heh heh.

I'm walking to school for the first time in my life. My school back in Boston was a 30 minute drive from by house so walking was nearly impossible. But before we moved here, my parents made sure that we'd live in walking distance to a good high school for me and a strong middle school for Mikey (the two schools, sadly, are in opposite directions so that's why I'm walking by myself. Even though he's not the best conversationalist, I could use his company). It's kind of nice, actually. Although my legs are shaking from nerves, I can't help but feel positive as I'm surrounded by beautiful and vibrant flowers and the sounds of chirping birds and people beginning their Monday mornings. And I love my adorable sailor-girl thingy school uniform! It's so nice not to have to worry about what to wear in the morning. My pleated black skirt sways around my legs thanks to a pleasant spring breeze. Today will be a good day.

I've been walking for about five minutes when I see someone else in a school uniform. A _huge_ boy just left his house and is a few yards, uh I mean _meters_ , behind me. I dive behind a bush to covertly look back at his black trousers and black button up jacket and wonder if there's any chance we're heading to the same place. Maybe we can become friends and walk to school together every day!

He's carrying a black man-purse (I refuse to say satchel) and a…frog? I whip a pair of binoculars out of my school bag to get a better look at this weirdo. He is wearing glasses (nerd!), looks super serious (boring!), and has green hair (wait, what?!). I have to rub my eyes and slap myself to make sure that this guy is real and not some imaginary friend I've created from nervousness. There's only one way to settle this… a prank! It's April Fools Day, after all, so he should see it coming! I hope he has a sense of humor…

I can see that the Green Giant is coming closer, so I know I need to act fast. Quickly, I survey my surroundings and see two telephone poles across from each other… Perfect! I pull a package of saran wrap out of my bag and bolt over to the poles, wrapping the saran wrap around each so that an invisible wall would stretch across the sidewalk. I then hurry back to my Bush of Concealment to see what Greeny is going to do. Once I get to my hideout, I can see that I've done well, but a highly intelligent person or a guy as tall as him should easily spot the point where the wrap ends and empty space begins again. And he _is_ wearing glasses… I'm deep in thought and a little sad now because sure that this prank is going to fail. Ugh what a waste of tim-!

"Ahhh! Oha Asa, how could you let this fate befall me?"

A manly scream! Could it be? My head snaps up in time to catch Frog Guy wrapped up in my saran wrap! I burst into laughter; I can't believe he fell for it.

"April Fools! Gotcha, _baka_!" I yell as a spring out from my hiding spot. The Green-Haired Grouch is looking at me now. Uh oh… He seems pissed! His features are contorted in rage and there's a scary aura about him. I quickly look to the left and right; it's just us here. When I check my watch, I can see that I only have 5 more minutes to try and get to school or I'll be late. Crap! I feel bad, but I don't have time to unwrap this guy right now. It's my first day and I need a good impression at school. I probably will never see him again anyway! This thought eases my conscience as I look at him apologetically, bow, and utter a quick "Gomen!" before sprinting off towards school.

I guess April Fools Day is just an American thing after all. Well, you live and learn.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV**

Midorima Shintarou was optimistic about his first day of high school at Shutoku, one of Tokyo's Three Kings. He knew that he was intelligent and the #1 shooter on the Generation of Miracles. He knew that his lucky item for the day was a frog. He knew that Oha Asa said that Geminis would have plenty of surprises coming their way today. He did not know that he would be late for school because he'd be caught in saran wrap. He was lost in thought as he left his home that fateful spring morning. He was taking a mental inventory of all of Oha Asa's lucky items for the next few weeks, making sure that he had all of them ready to go and a backup for each on hand if necessary when he suddenly was trapped in a wall of plastic.

"Ahhh! Oha Asa, how could you let this fate befall me?"

He heard some loud laughter and was shocked to see a light haired Caucasian girl with a mischievous glint in her eyes dart out from behind a bush.

"April Fools! Gotcha, baka!"

Midorima Shintarou did not appreciate being called a "baka". He did not appreciate this American's (it was clear from the moment he saw her) disgusting "prank" and he most definitely did not appreciate being left to thrash about in cheap plastic wrap and be late on his very first day at Shutoku High.

 _I hope never to see this girl again. If I do, I will destroy her... I have found a new enemy today. Man proposes, God disposes; no one disgraces Midorima Shintarou without paying the price._


	5. First Friend and Basketball Signups

_"I'm a lion in a strange land."_  
 _― Criss Jami_

 **Chapter 5:**

Rose's POV

Today has gone by pretty quickly! I rushed to school after pranking Green Bean and I barely made it on time. Kids at school kept staring at me; at first I assumed it was because of my disheveled appearance, but even after I went to the bathroom and fixed myself up, they still stared! It wasn't until I was walking through a long hallway and overheard some first year girls talking that I finally understood why people kept giving me double takes, looking covertly out of the corner of their eyes, or staring. I ducked behind the bust of an old guy so I could listen in secret.

"Did you see that new first year, the foreign girl?"

"How could I not? She sprinted into my class this morning and caused quite the commotion"

"Well she's clearly an American, then."

"And she's wide, too!" _What?!_

I could take the foreigner comments or whatever, I know of the reputation that us Americans have, but to call me "wide"?! How rude! I AM NOT WIDE, I'M TOTALLY AVERAGE! Just as I was about to spring out from my hiding place and attack those mean little twigs, I felt someone grab my wrist and put a hand over my mouth. _Oh my God, is someone trying to kill me? Is someone hung up about the conclusion of World War II and they're exterminating me to avenge their late grand-father?_

I was pulled back suddenly into someone's chest. It was vibrating, for some reason… Was this person crying? Had he or she heard those horrible words and now was crying empathetically as they felt my pain? Touched, I turned around to comfort the person who was no longer holding onto me, and to my chagrin, I saw some guy about my age with straight black hair that hung slightly over his slate-blue eyes, who was trying in vain to control his laughter. He was laughing at my pain! He had the gall to laugh at me _and_ prevent me from sucker punching those mean girls? I could kill this guy!

"Why are you laughing?" I hissed at him through clenched teeth.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry" he didn't very look sorry as he continued to giggle, "it's just, the look on your face when she called you 'wide', Kami! Priceless!"

At this point, the girls were long gone and he wasn't even trying to stop his guffawing. I suddenly realized that I was still basically on top of him and I quickly pushed myself away, wearing a sour look on my face as I muttered to myself, "I'm _not_ wide."

He started to calm himself down as he got up from his crouched position and stood over me.

"Hey, I didn't mean to offend you just now. For the record, I don't think you're wide at all. You're totally average!" He struck a pose and grinned at me in a way that would've made Guy Sensei proud.

"Uh, thanks, I think…" I replied, not really sure if it was a compliment or not. I guess I _did_ just refer to myself as average, so I really shouldn't be complaining.

He slapped himself on the forehead and suddenly had a panicked look on his face as he tried to correct himself.

"No, no, no, I didn't mean average like that, I meant you're a normal weight—I mean, you're really nice looking. You're above average, you rock—"

"Hey, calm down, I'm okay with being average," I grinned and cut the poor guy off in the middle of his awkward rant. He grinned back at me and offered a hand to help me up, which I gratefully accepted.

"Heh, I have an older sister so I know how taboo it is to talk about weight or anything with a girl. I guess I should've shut my big mouth. But your face _was_ priceless!"

I let out a laugh at him comment. "I'm sure it was. I _was_ really mad!"

"Oh, don't worry!" I shot him a puzzled look as he pulled a phone out of his pocket. "You can see for yourself!"

Oh my god, he got a picture of me! What a weirdo! Looks like there are weirdos outside of America too. I peered at the picture, a little nervously. I burst out laughing as soon as I saw it. In the photo, my face was burning red and I had veins pulsing all over my forehead. My right eye was in mid-twitch and my fists were clenched so hard that my knuckles were totally white. My hair looked like it was even starting to rise like an angry cat's, or something.

"This is priceless, I totally forgive you," I told the guy as I dried my tears that had formed due to how hard I was laughing.

"Good!" The guy smiled and shook my hand, which I realized I was awkwardly still holding. "I'm Takao Kazunari, a first year and future Shutoku High basketball legend. Let's be friends!"

"Nice to meet you, Takao-kun! I'm Matlin Rose, but you can just call me Rose or Rose-chan. I'm a first year too, and I also plan on being a basketball legend!"

His smile somehow widened at my mention of basketball. He grasped my hands and bounced up and down like a little kid.

"Rose-chan, my new best friend! Let's go to the club fair together and sign up for the basketball teams here! And we can practice together every day!"

I couldn't help but smile when he was all enthusiastic like that. As soon as I nodded vigorously in response, he dragged me off towards the courtyard by the main entrance of the school, happily chanting, "Welcome to Japan" the entire way.

And that is how I got to be here, drowning in a sea of loud bodies all advertising their respective clubs. Takao drags me towards the Girls' Basketball Club's table. I hesitate for a moment, because I am beginning to feel nervous. What if I'm not good enough? What if they don't like me? What if—?

"Ahh!" I let out a yelp as Takao shoves me over to the table. Before I crash into the wooden table topped with neat stacks of applications, a tall girl catches me. I whip my head around to give Takao a dirty glare but he just waves innocently before darting off. I roll my eyes before craning my neck up to the giant girl holding me.

"I'm _so_ sorry!" I saw quickly, as I step out of her strong grasp. Her hands are huge! And she's around 6'3", that can't be normal for a Japanese girl! That's not even normal for an American girl! She looks down at me and I look up at her.

"You're American!"

"You're tall!"

We both speak at the same time and then laugh. She bows slightly before introducing herself.

"Hello! I'm Shutoku third-year center, Sano Sara. Are you here to join the Basketball Club?"

"Sano…Sara?" I repeat, looking up at the tall and lanky Japanese girl. She has long, pretty black hair and twinkling dark brown eyes. Her name sounds kind of American, so I can't help but be a little confused.

Sensing my confusion, Sano-sempai smiles kindly down at me before saying in perfect English, "I was born in Canada and lived there until I was eight. My whole family is Japanese, though, so we decided to move back to be closer to family and to take care of my aging grandmother. And please, just call me Sara!"

"Wow, that's so cool, Sara-senpai!" I say excitedly in Japanese. "My Japanese isn't the best, I know, but it's great knowing that you can be my translator if I'm in a pinch." Suddenly, I smack myself in the face. "Gomen! Where are my manners? I'm Matlin Rose, but you can just call me Rose."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Rose! I'll translate any time," she says, smiling down at me, her face shining with amusement. "I know what a big deal basketball is in the states and I remember going down several times to watch games with my family. Here's a signup form you can fill out," she picks up a paper from the wooden table behind us and hands it to me with a pen. I take it and fill it out as quickly as possible before handing it back to her.

"Great! I can't wait to see what you can do at tryouts, Rose. It has been a pleasure meeting you. Welcome to Shutoku!"

I can't help but smile brightly in gratitude and excitement. I bow at Sara and thank her before running off happily into the crowd. I am so lost in my thoughts about tomorrow's tryout that I am completely caught off guard when I smack into some big object and fall back onto my butt.

"Ow…" I mutter under my breath as I rub my now-aching butt.

"How unlady like." I hear a deep and serious voice from above me. He sounds really snooty and condescending; still, it _is_ my fault for running into the guy.

I look up with the intent to apologize when I see dark green hair, and black rimmed gleaming glasses. Uh oh.

"You!" his features contort into the same angry look that he sported when he was trapped in my web of plastic.

I quickly look at my wrist and point to my invisible watch. "Oh no, ha ha, look at the time, I really _must_ be going. I have to walk my, um, squirrel." There's a long pause and awkward silence as we stare at each other for a minute. I quickly cup my hand around my ear and say, "Oh, hear that? My mom is calling. Gotta run, bye!" And with that, I get up off the ground and sprint back into the school to prepare for the last few classes of my day. I never thought that I'd see that guy again. Oh God, I'm going to die.


	6. Creepy Smiles and Sorry!

_"_ _I think everybody's weird. We should all celebrate our individuality and not be embarrassed or ashamed of it."  
_ _―_ _Johnny Depp_

 **Chapter 6**

 **Rose's POV**

I have somehow survived my first day of school in Japan! HUZZAH! Since basketball tryout does not begin until Friday, I have time to do whatever I want after school. I decide to go to the library so I can get ahead of my schoolwork. I still am far from totally fluent in Japanese so I need to do whatever it takes not to get too far behind.

After I ran off from the club fair, I couldn't find Takao, so I never got to reprimand him for shoving me or ask him how his signup went. I wonder if the boys' team is any good. I wonder if Takao is good or if he's just all talk. Ugh, the more that I think about basketball, the harder it is to concentrate on anything else.

I am sitting alone at wooden table in the library, struggling with my Japanese homework. That will definitely be my toughest class this year. As I try to concentrate on the three Japanese alphabets in front of me, my frustration boils over as I accidently snap my pencil in half. Some girls at a nearby table look at me in fear, but I am honestly too distraught to care. That's a brand new pencil! This day has just been too much to handle. I don't like feeling this lost. I sigh in defeat and slowly rise from my chair. There's no use fighting it, I need a tutor. I walk to the school's office and fill out my Tutor Request Form, hoping that I'll get someone nice and that we can be the best of friends. I actually am kind of excited as I turn my form in and return to the library to gather my things. There's no use trying to figure this crud out anymore, I'm outta here!

I take my phone out of my pocket and dial Sa-chan's number as soon as I exit the building.

 _"_ _Rose-chan?!"_ I hear a girlish squeal through the receiver.

"Sa-chan! Is that offer you made me still on the table?"

" _Yes, yes, a thousand yesses! I've been waiting for this day for a year! I'll text you the address, meet me on top of the gym's roof."_ I can't help but smile as I hear her excitement through the phone.

"Alright, well, as soon as you send the info, I'll be on my way. See ya soon!"

" _Bye, my American friend!"_

I laugh and end the call. So today is the day I'll finally meet my pen-pal in person. Sure, we have emailed, sent letters, and skyped, but it's so real this time. What if she doesn't like me anymore or thinks that I smell bad? Will she be put-off by my supposed "wideness"? I am suddenly so nervous that I almost just go home and decide to ditch our meeting, but as I turn to go, my phone buzzes with the address from Sa-chan and a message about how she can't wait to see me. I need to push back my nervousness, because I can't let her down! I put on a brave face and follow the directions until I finally reach it, Tōō Academy.

This school is nice! It looks a little like a university and I can't help but feel impressed and affected by the aura of freedom that surrounds the place. Some of the students who are still around seem to walk around the campus with a perfect. I sit down on a bench under a sakurka tree. A lot of the buildings look the same to I have no idea which one is the gym. I take some time to observe the few students still here. The girls' uniforms look practically the same as my own, but Tōō's boy uniforms were _way_ better than our boy ones. Seeing these uniforms made me realize how dumb ours look; why can't our guys wear ties and cardigans?! It's way hotter! I might have to find myself a Tōō boy…

I am suddenly yanked out of my thoughts when I feel a shadow suddenly over me. I look up to see a tall boy with black hair and glasses, and a slightly shorter boy with light brown hair standing a little farther back. He seems a little timid and I think I catch him muttering "Sorry" for some reason. I look back to the darker haired boy, who is standing straight and confidently as he looks down at me. He must be a third year…

"Hello! You seem a little lost. Can I help you with something?"

Wow, how nice of him. His eyes seem closed as he squints down at me, and although he is friendly and his words are kind, there's something a little creepy about that smile…

I hesitantly smile back as I attempt to make eye-contact with the guy. "Hi, I am lost, actually. Do you know where the gym is?"

The boy continues to smile. It's really starting to creep me out. "The gym? Sakurai and I are on our way there now. We can take you."

"Th-thank you so much…" I trail off since I have no idea what this guy's name is.

"Oh, where are my manners? My name is Imayoshi Shoichi. I am a third year student here at Tōō Academy, and a member of the Student Council Committee. It is my duty to be of assistance."

Well, he sure seems sure of himself. I try to shake off the weird vibe I feel coming off of him as I introduce myself in return.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Imayoshi-senpai! I'm Matlin Rose and I'm a first year at Shutoku. I recently moved her and I'm meeting my pen-pal for the first time. She goes here, by the way, if that wasn't clear. Uh…" I feel myself saying too much as I feel his gaze boring into me. He seems to be studying me. This is so weird! Please can this be over soon. The chills that his unwavering and squinting gaze have given me are only intensifying! And he seems to be enjoying making me squirm. I don't like this…

"I can see that you are a foreigner, Matlin-san. Well then, welcome to Japan and welcome to Tōō. The boy cowering behind me is Sakurai Ryo. He, too, is a first year. Sakurai, say hello."

I hear Sakurai mumble sorry as he steps forward to stutter a nervous hello. At least he seems nice! I give him a reassuring smile as I stand up, ready to follow them. I am so grateful for Sakurai's presence. Imayoshi seems like the type of person who'd murder me in a dark alley if it were just the two of us. With this disturbing thought, I slowly inch closer to Sakurai and stick pretty close to his side. Imayoshi begins towards the gym and continues to smile in the face of my discomfort. Ugh, weirdo.

"You're pretty tall for a girl, Matlin-san. You're almost Sakurai's height. You wouldn't happen to be a basketball player, would you?" he speaks back to me as he continues to walk, still facing forward. I don't really want to respond but I don't want this guy to be my enemy. He might kill me in my sleep! So I decide to laugh the question off. For some reason, I feel the need to be guarded around him.

"Ha ha, you think so? Oh, I guess it's just thanks to these crazy genes of mine. No, I can't say that I know much about this "basket-balls" or whatever that you speak of, sorry!" He totally sees through my bluff. He looks back at me and I can tell he isn't happy with my little lie as his smile flattens out into a straight line and his eyes seems to harden. Oh god, what have I done? I quickly step behind Sakurai and grab onto his shoulders tightly, using him as a human shield.

"Don't be scared, Matlin-san, Imayoshi-senpai isn't _that_ bad," Sakurai whispers back to me. Tears trip down my face and I thank the lord for this boy's existence.

"Do you have something to share with us all, Sakurai?" Imayoshi asks without turning back at us. How did he hear that? Oh man, this guy is not human. Sakurai and I both start to shake.

"I'm so sorry Imayoshi-senpai!" he blurts out nervously. He looks on the verge of tears and begins to yell "sorry" over and over at the top of his lungs. My right eye starts to twitch in annoyance. I guess I won't be going after any Tōō guys after all if they're all this weird. I was worried about being the only weird one in Japan, but it's starting to seem like I'm the only normal one, and that's really starting to scare me. This disturbing thought is enough to make me ready to run away, and just as I am about to sprint home, I slam into Sakurai, who has stopped walking.

"Well, we have arrived." Imayoshi looks at me with his chilling smile and calculating eyes. I really need to stay away from people with glasses…

"Thanks so much. It was a pleasure meeting you both!" I give them what I hope looks like a smile but probably just looks like the emoji with dead eyes showing a lot of teeth, bow to them both, and sprint through the doors of the gym, away from the two Tōō boys. I hope that I never have to see them again! I follow Sa-chan's directions and run to the back of the gym where there is a ladder that will lead me to the roof. When I step in front of it, I lean my head onto one of the rungs as I let out a deep breath that I didn't know I'd been holding. What a strange day this has been…

 **3** **rd** **Person POV**

Imayoshi chuckled as he watched the uncomfortable American girl sprint off into the gym. He then turned to Sakurai and gave him his trademark and ever-present, toothless smile.

"I have a feeling that we will be seeing our new friend again soon…"

Sakurai could only look at Imayoshi with a mix of wonderment and fear in his big brown eyes. He would never understand the ways of his spooky captain. All he could do was whisper sorry in reply before the two young men walked through the Tōō gym doors.


	7. Meeting Sa-chan and Her Special Guest

_We all have idols. Play like anyone you care about but try to be yourself while you're doing so._

 _-B. B. King_

 **Chapter 7:**

 **Rose's POV**

I take a deep breath before shakily pulling myself up the ladder to the top of the roof. There's no turning back now as I finally reach the top. Just as I lift my head and squint in an attempt to adjust my eyes to the now-blinding sunlight, I hear a girly squeal and feel myself being tackled.

"Rose-chan! It's you, you're finally here!" she sobs as she holds onto me tightly. She's getting my clothes wet and clutching onto me with more strength than I would've thought she had in her. I am just so relieved that she's happy to see me after all!

"Sa-chan, I've been waiting for this day forever!" I smile widely and eventually am able to pull back from her death grip of a hug so I can get a good look at her. She looks pretty much the same as she does online. The most noticeable difference are her huge boobs—where were those hiding before? Holy crap! I can't help but feel a little jealous when I compare them to my about average B-cup chest. She sure is blessed. Oh God, am I staring? This is really awkward-

"I know! You're even prettier in person! I love your hair color…" she drones on and I can't help but be grateful that she snapped me out of my creepy thoughts. She's just as nice in person as she was in every letter, it's incredible. I think I can say that I officially have two Japanese friends. This is the best day ever!

When I notice that Sa-chan has finally finished talking, I hastily reply. "Ha, you are too kind, Sa-chan, seriously. It's just so nice to finally D, uh I mean see you! I have a feeling that we'll be breast, ah, _best_ friends!" I need to get a hold of myself, I'm sounding like a psycho! "Sorry Sa-chan, I know I must sound like a titiot, my Japanese still isn't the best…"

Did I just say "titiot?" Aw, no, this is going all wrong for me! Sa-chan laughs. "Rose-chan, you're hilarious! And even weirder in person, I love it! I'm so excited to have a female best friend! Dai-chan isn't always the best conversationalist…" I nod with understanding. She told me all about her childhood best friend in her letters. When she heard about my love of basketball, she immediately sent me film from one of his middle school basketball games and I was blown away by his insane skills. He is the best player I have ever seen and I want to be his disciple and student so he can teach me everything he knows. He's my basketball idol. Sa-chan knows this and said that she'd have us meet sometime and told me that Dai-chan was thrilled to be my teacher. _Thrilled_! When I read that letter, I nearly fainted.

"Oi, you talking 'bout me, Satsuki?" I am frozen in my seated position on the room where Sa-chan had tackled me. Oh. My. God. It's _him_ , he's here right now. I seriously feel like I am about to pass out. My head… it feels so light. Sa-chan is about to replay to her friend when she sees me and my current predicament. She rushes to my side and starts fanning me with her hands.

"Is… is that him?" I whisper to her.

"Yep!" Sa-chan smiles widely. "Rose-chan, meet Aomine Daiki!" As soon as she says his name, I can't help myself. I totally fall apart and instantaneously faint, falling back onto the hard concrete roof, lying like a corpse. Everything goes dark.

"Dai-chan, what have you done?!" I wince as I hear Sa-chan's voice. Everything is dark. I feel groggy and confused. What happened to me?

"It ain't my fault she fainted like a moron the second she heard my name!" I can practically hear the smirk through his words. "What can I say, the ladies love me."

"Don't be a jerk, Dai-chan. This isn't about you. She just faints a lot…" He could never be a jerk! It is about him. And it's true, I do faint more than the average human.

"Tch" Aomie replies. He says so much through so little. What a poet! Slowly, my eyes flutter open and I am met with the harsh glare of sunlight above. Sa-chan is kneeling over me worriedly. I slowly push myself up to a seated position.

"Calm down, everyone, I'm A-okay!" I give a thumbs-up and shoot Sa-chan a huge grin. She immediately hugs me, effectively crushing my ribs with her bountiful bosom and simultaneous squeezing the life out of the rest of me with her iron grip.

"I was so worried about you! Please don't scare me like that again." She sobs as she shakes me around like a ragdoll. My parents are going to think that I was caught in the rain whenever I get home, with how much she's soaking my uniform.

"I won't, I promise." She lets me go after this reassurance, seeming very relieved. I take this moment of separation to lay eyes on Aomine Daiki for the first time in person. He looks like a god, a strong, dark-haired, and very tan god, as he lays lazily down on top of the roof with some sort of magazine over his face. He's a little too far away for me to tell what he's reading, but I'm sure it's highly educational. I sigh with longing. He's so…perfect.

"Keep it down over there!" he calls out lazily.

"Dai-chan, don't be so rude! Say hi to Rose-chan. She's the pen-pal I've been telling you about all year long." His head is still buried under that magazine of his.

"She's the American?" he asks with a little interest.

Sa-chan nods furiously. "Yes! Say hi!"

Slowly, he pushes the magazine off of his face and cranes his head towards me. One intense blue eyes looks straight at me. He's studying me, he's _interested_ in me! I smile as I watch his gaze travel downward to my chest. He is literally seeing straight into my soul. This is the beginning of true love. I've never felt like this before. My heart pounds when I notice that he is about to speak. Will he tell me he loves me? When he looked into my eyes, did he know I was "the one"? There is a long pause before he closes his eye once more.

"Satsuki, you never mentioned how small she is." Small? I really _am_ in love! He's the first Japanese person to call me small. Ha, take that ladies, this stud doesn't think I'm wide at all! Before Sa-chan can say anything, he speaks again.

"You know that I don't associate with B-cups. It's go D (or higher) or go home. I thought Americans were supposed to be bustier but I guess not…"

Sa-chan and I are both at a loss for words. Did he just say what I thought he said? My right eye starts twitching. There is no way he just said that. I decide to laugh it off.

"Ha, you're hilarious Aomine-kun. I think I misunderstood you though, this language barrier is just killing me!"

"Learn to say my name right, tiny ti-"

"OKAY!" Sa-chan cut him off before he could do any more damage. I clench my knuckles so hard that I nearly draw blood. First of all, I have been practicing pronouncing his name correctly for months just so I could impress him, so that stung. And secondly, to think that he said what I thought he said, that he had the nerve to insult my bust size (blame genetics!), that was way too far. I take a deep breath and walk calmly over to where he is lying down with the magazine again over his eyes, clenching and unclenching my fists the entire way. I stand over him, waiting for him to move the magazine, but he just lays there, even after I clear my throat impatiently. Sa-chan is rooted to the ground, unsure of my next move. I turn my head to her and we make eye contact. It takes her only a second to register my killing intent (she told me early on that she's goo at reading people), and when she does, a serious expression forms on her face as she gives me the go-ahead nod. Good.

"Hey, Aho-mine." He still doesn't look up, but I think I see his hands twitch when he hears what I've called him. Now that I'm this close, I can get a better look at the cover of the magazine, and when I do, my eyes widen in shock.

"This isn't education!" I yell and I snatch the magazine away from his face and into my hands. "This is… filthy! It must be exterminated." I rip the magazine in half and chuck the pieces off of the room, laughing evilly as I do so.

"What have you done… you brat?" Ha! His eyes are wide open now. He's paying attention—now is the perfect time for my prepared monologue (just in case the impossible scenario occurred where Aomine didn't jump into my arms confessing his love for me).

"Aho-mine Daiki. _Teme_ … For the last six months, I have watched your game film daily. You have motivated me to work harder and achieve your level. It was my hope that when I came to Japan, I would get the honor of becoming your pupil and eventually playing you in 1-on-1, but I guess that was only a pipedream. You were my idol, Aho-mine Daiki. But like all stars must at some point, you have fallen. The day will come when I destroy you. I can't believe that dear Satuski would be friends with a turd like you, you oxygen-waster! My name is Matlin Rose. You have hurt me greatly; prepare to die!" and with that, I hurl myself at him, ready to go WWE on him and drive my elbow into his skull. But instead, I make hard contact with the concrete roof. Dang it, he is fast!

"OH GOD, MY FUNNY BONE!" I writhe in pain and roll around on the floor. I soon feel a shadow over me and look up to see Aomine standing tall above me, wide awake and staring intently into my eyes.

"I didn't listen to a word of your shitty speech, Mosquito Bite, but you sure have managed to piss me off. The only one could can beat me is-" I cut him off by biting his ankle and snarling like a rabid dog. No one calls me Mosquito Bite _and_ insults my impassioned dialogue and gets away with it.

"You weren't fast enough to avoid that, were ya? You better watch your mouth, Aho-mine, I'll _kill you!_ " My hands shoot out and since he is still preoccupied with his slightly wounded ankle, I am able to grab him and pull him onto the ground… and right on top of me. I didn't really think that one through. Now I'm hurting all over.

I am lying on my back, lying paralyzed with my limbs splayed about, looking like a dead person. Aomine pushes himself up so that he is sitting on top of me. His hips are over mine and as he slowly leans towards my face, I can't help the blush that hits me. I am struggling to remind myself that he isn't my idol anymore and I hate him. But he's so close…

He stops with his face inches from my own, eyes piercing into my own. His blue orbs shine with sadistic amusement and he leans down closer to whisper into my ear.

"You're an interesting one, _Matlin Rose_ , you know that?" something about hearing him say my name makes me shiver. "But as I was trying to say, the only one who can beat me is me. Give up, get out, and buy a padded bra while you're at it." And with that, he pushes himself up off of me and retreats down the ladder, waving a hand lazily above his head like nothing happened, and then he's out of sight.

"Well… that was weird." Oops, I'd forgotten that Sa-chan was there the whole time. I slowly get up and then rub the back of my neck in embarrassment.

"I'm so sorry, Sa-chan. This has been a, um, really weird day for me, to say the least. I hope I didn't ruin our meeting!" I bow my head apologetically and in shame.

"Rose-chan…" suddenly, she bursts out laughing. Like, even harder than Takao was laughing earlier today. What the heck?

"That was the best thing I've seen in weeks. You should've seen your face when he-hahaha!" She cut herself off with her laughter and I rolled my eyes.

"Let me guess, you've got a picture?" I ask with a blank look on my face. In reply, she shows me her new lock screen photo with a grin. Yep, it's me under Aho-mine. That's so embarrassing!

"Please don't show that to anyone, Sa-chan, I am begging you!" I grab her shoulders and shake her as I sob. If my parents see that, they'll kill me! Sa-chan envelopes me in a tender and much less bone crushing hug than her earlier ones.

"Don't worry, Rose-chan, I've got your back. And for the record, I know that Dai-chan can be a real jerk, but just give him a chance, okay? What you did with his gravure magazine was really brave and he may even respect you enough to play some basketball with you… after he buys a new magazine."

"You think so?" I wipe the snot away from my nose and dry my eyes. Sa-chan nods in response. I smile and hug her once more before checking the time.

"Oh gosh, it's later than I thought. I've gotta run! See ya, Sa-chan, I hope we can hang out soon!" I smile at her before taking off down the ladder. I need to hurry home in order to escape my mom's wrath—she hates lateness. I am totally out of breath by the time I make it home, but what's important is that I am (barely) on time!

"Wassup fam, I'm hooommmmeeeee!" I call the second I walk through my front door. Without waiting for a response, I run upstairs to my bedroom and flop down on the bed, waiting to be called for dinner. What a day it's been. From making an enemy out of Green Bean and possibly Aomine Daiki, to befriending Takao, and meeting Sara and seeing Sa-chan in person, this day has been jam-packed with action. I can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring.

 **Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who is reading my story! Please let me know what you think. Also, who do you think Rose should end up with? Have a great week!**


	8. I Need A Tutor

Not many people have had as much bad luck as I have, but not many people have had as much good luck, either.

 _-Tig Notaro_

 **Chapter 8:**

 **Rose's POV**

My alarm buzzes and I blindly slap at it as I groggily rise from my bed. Time for Day 2 of school! I get up and throw on my uniform and then throw my hair into a ponytail. I go downstairs and eat my usual breakfast of chocolate chip waffles, crispy bacon, and coffee. As I walk out of the door, my mom calls out to me,

"Have a great day today, Carb Queen!" I stop in my tracks.

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" I growl at her angrily.

"Nothing," she says, but she smiles a little too innocently.

"ARE YOU CALLING ME FAT?!" I yell at her, with clenched fists. At this point, I am standing on my front porch with the door wide open and people are stopping on the sidewalk to stare at this exchange. I'm too charged up to feel embarrassed.

"No, honey, of course not. I just think you could, you know, cut back on the carbs a little. They're not good for you." Since when did she become a nutritionist?

"Okay, so what do you want me to eat, then?" I ask her in an exasperated and somewhat condescending tone.

"Meat." She replies simply.

"Meat... I already eat meat!" I'm starting to get very frustrated with her.

"Well, eat _more_ meat then."

"OKAY!" I yell at the top of my lungs. "FROM THIS MOMENT FORTH, I AM A CANNIBAL!" My mom rolls her eyes, pushes me out the door, and then slams the wooden fixture in my face. I blink, and then a few seconds later, she opens the door, hurls my bag out at me, and then slams in again. What a start to the day. I slowly turn around to face the sidewalk when I see that a huge crowd has gathered outside of my house. What the heck, that's like, 100 people. But when I take a step towards them, they all run away screaming. I think that I hear someone shout, "Run away, the cannibal is approaching!" Oh god, I really am not making a good first impression in Japan at all.

I sigh as I walk towards away from my house and down the street towards school. A few people on the same side of the street see me and scurry to the other side.

"I'm not a cannibal!" I call after them. "I swear, I've never eaten a human in my life! I bit someone yesterday, but that was it, I promise!" That doesn't sound very good either, though. I grimace and curse my own stupidity, deciding just to keep my mouth shut for the time being. As I shuffle along, I feel like I'm being followed. I shake off the feeling and continue to shuffle along, scuffing my feet on the ground, until I hear a deep voice speak from behind me.

"You should learn your place." I know that arrogant, manly, know it all-ish voice anywhere! It's my enemy, Kermit the Frog!

"What'd you just say to me?" I hiss, slowly turning my heard toward the tall, green-haired jerk as I give him my meanest glare.

"If the look on your face is supposed to be intimidating, you are failing miserably. You look stupid." He pushes up his glasses and he gleam. This guy…

"What the heck is your problem?!" My whole body is now turned towards him. I am in a fighting stance, with my knees bent and fists clenched.

"There you go again, making a spectacle of yourself. Typical American. You cannot just come into someone else's country with such disregard for its rules and social etiquette. You yell and shout and draw attention to yourself. It is embarrassing to you and your family. It is people like you that should go back to where you came from. It is people like you who I detest the most."

Wow… That was harsh, to say the least. I am honestly stunned. I guess on one hand, he has a point. But on the other hand, he's really mean to say some of the things he said. Like telling me to go back to where I came from, seriously?! He doesn't even know me. And it's not like I wanted to leave my home and everything I love! I'm too frustrated with how this day has been going to even try to reply to him. Nothing I could ever say would satisfy this guy, anyway.

"You're right." I look him in the eye and then turn around, with a dead look in my eyes. Some people here are so annoying. Thank the lord I have Takao, or else I think I would die at this school. I walk forward for a while before sneaking a quick glance behind me, only to find that he's gone. Huh, that's odd. Oh well. I turn back and pick up my pace so I can get to school on time.

….

The rest of the day flew by. I am starting to get the hang of my classes more and more. However, Japanese still continues to confound me. Luckily, today I am getting my tutor! I skip off to the school's office on my way to meet my tutor for the first time.

"Matlin Rose?" An older woman at the front desk with a kind, round face and graying hair looks up at me with a smile.

"Yep, that's me! Hello, ma'am!" I give her a smile.

"Well aren't you just adorable?" I blush, embarrassed by her compliment. "I see that you've requested a tutor for Japanese. Let me see here…" She puts on a pair of thick, round glasses and then flips through some papers on her desk. "Ah, yes. You're a lucky girl, Matlin-san. You're tutor is the smartest child in school and one of the top first years in the country!"

"This is amazing! I'm so excited. I really need all of the help that I can get." I bounce up and down as I look forward to meeting this magical person who can help me learn Japanese and become a slightly above average student once more.

"Here are some forms for you. You can meet your tutor in the library. He is waiting for you in Study Room 6."

"Thank you so much!" I smile graciously and then run off to the library in search of Study Room 6. I get a little lost, as I still am not used to this giant school, so I am a few minutes late. I throw the door open and burst into the room, leaning over onto my knees and panting from exhaustion.

"I am _sooo_ sorry that I'm late, my fantastic tutor. Please forgive me!" I take my hands off of my knees so I'm bowing at my hopefully benevolent tutor, begging for forgiveness. I slowly lift my head and I am shocked at what I see. I rub my eyes, slap my face, and blink a few times, but he's still there, staring back at me as coldly as ever. I grasp the papers the front desk woman gave me tightly in my hands and look down at them frantically. I find the name of my tutor and read it aloud, hesitantly and scared.

"Midorima…Shintarou?"

He nods slowly, a blank look on his bespectacled face.

My whole world goes green and the last thing I feel before I lose consciousness is my body falling to the floor.

 _Curse my luck._


	9. The First Lesson That Never Was

_"I hope karma slaps you in the face before I do."_

 _-Anonymous_

 **Chapter 9**

 **3** **rd** **Person POV**

Rose Matlin fainted and Midorima let her hit the hard wooden floorboards with a _thud_. He remained sitting behind his desk, looking at the fallen girl with aggravation.

 _This is a complete waste of my time._ Midorima thought to himself. _When that baka's Japanese sensei asked me to help her student, I did so out of duty. I would have never accepted if I had known I would be working with this imbecile. Americans… they just don't belong here._

With an exasperated sigh, Midorima stood up from his chair, pushed it back in, and then grabbed his lucky item of the day, a live koala bear, before walking over to the fallen Rose. He stood over her, looking down at her now peaceful (as opposed to the expression of pure fear that she wore when she saw him in the room before fainting) face impassively. He was unsure of what to do with her at first, but he soon realized that it was his duty to bring her to the nurse. But how… Suddenly, Midorima pushed up his glasses and then they gleamed. He smiled a small smile and got this crazy look in his eye, as he moved the koala from under his arm to instead perch it on top of his head. Now that his hands were free, he could get her to the nurse. Midorima grabbed Rose's legs and then proceeded to drag her limp body out of the room. He dragged her across the library floor and through the hallways of the school. He even dragged her outside through some mud and a puddle as payback for yesterday's prank. Deciding that wasn't much of a payback, he also dragged her across a bustling road, where she narrowly missed being squashed by speeding cars and busses numerous times. After doing that, he dragged her up to the school nurse.

Midorima walked in and then surveyed the room. There were four unoccupied cots, all neatly covered in blankets and pillows. There was a sort of operating table where patients could sit as they were worked on. There were six chairs lining the wall and one comfortable looking swivel chair in the back behind the nurse's work desk. There were several cupboards and bins full of medical supplies. All of these things filled the room, yet it was totally void of human life.

"How unprofessional," Midorima scoffed as he realized that the nurse was nowhere to be found. He sighed and looked back at the unconscious girl he'd been dragging around. Exasperated, he picked her up, making sure to keep her at an arm's length distance ( _I don't want to be contaminated by this American fool, nanodayo_ , he thought) and tossed her onto a cot. He looked down at the brown-haired girl in annoyance and boredom. She was sprawled out on the cot with her mouth wide open, still completely conked out.

"So low class," Midorima muttered before turning to go. But just as he was nearing the door, the koala jumped off of his head and ran towards Rose. "Hey, quit that. You are my lucky item, you should not disobey me!" Midorima turned back and stomped towards the koala. It looked up at him with big, sad eyes, then looked at Rose. "What is it, nanodayo?" The koala nudged one of Rose's splayed-out arms. Midorima pushed up his glasses and frowned.

"I suppose you are right, lucky koala. It would be improper of me to leave the brat here without at least waking her up first." He ran out of the room and the koala remained at Rose's side, confused. The little animal crawled over and sat on her stomach, then turned so he was facing her. Several minutes went by before Midorima returned to the room holding a large green bucket full of ice water. "Yesterday's lucky item. Oha Asa never fails me," Midorima smiled smugly. He picked up the heavy bucket like it was nothing and walked over to Rose. He stood over her and then dumped the entire bucket of ice water onto her face.

"I WON'T TELL YOU WHERE LEROY IS, NO MATTER HOW MUCH WATER YOU POUR DOWN MY THROAT!"

"It worked," Midorima said without a trace of surprise in his voice. If anything, he seemed slightly amused. The corners of his lips were quirked upwards, revealing the faintest trace of a smile.

"Am I not being water boarded?" Rose asked fearfully. She rubbed her eyes and groaned. "What happened to me? I feel like I've been dragged through dirt or a street or something!"

"Oh? Interesting." Midorima replied coolly, devilishly deciding to tell her that she was not too far off from the truth.

"Wait, who are you? And why does my chest feel so heavy?" Rose lifted her head up to come face to face with the live koala. It blinked. She blinked. Then, she got up and started banging her head on the wall. "I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming!" She suddenly spun away from the wall, facing Midorima. "I know this is a dream! Koalas live in Australia. It's a dream, yes, yes. But, why are you here, Mr. Green Bean?"

"Shut up, American moron." Midorima was not amused by this display anymore. He was only annoyed, with growing aggravation towards this girl.

"Whaaaat? Why aren't you speaking English?" Rose looked down in the puddle of water she was sitting in. "Am I in Atlantis?"

"Die," Midorima said.

"You're funny, Four Eyes! But now I must GOOO!" Rose sprinted towards the window. "If this is a dream, then I can FLYYYY!" She wrenched open the window and was mid-leap when an arm yanked her back by the collar of her shirt. Midorima was seething with rage.

"This is not a dream, you idiot! Are you suicidal? My name is Midorima Shintarou, do not disrespect it. This is not how you should treat your tutor, who is clearly superior to you in every way."

"Midorima…Shintarou?" Midorima looked down his nose at her, his face expressionless. He released his grip on her shirt, causing Rose to hit the ground hard, landing on her butt with a loud _thud_. She rubbed her butt, but this action coupled with him standing over her, was so _déjà vu_. Her eyes widened. "Crap, crap, crap!" The memories came flooding back. Finding out that Midorima was her tutor, then fainting, waking up here abruptly, the koala, trying to jump out of a window… "Oh God, I'm so stupid!"

"Yes" Midorima stated matter-of-factly. "This has been a ridiculous waste of my time." With that, Midorima turned, scooped up the koala where it had fallen onto the floor in the chaos, and then left.

A minute later, when Midorima had stepped outside into the pleasant spring afternoon and Rose was still left sitting in shock on the floor, the two both asked themselves:"What just happened?"

 **Rose's POV**

Several hours later…

 _I can't believe that I behaved that way. God, I'm so embarrassed. He was supposed to help me with my Japanese and I wasted a great opportunity to actually improve in my worst subject. Crap…_

I'm lying down in bed, waiting for sleep to come, but I can't help but replay this rough end of the day in my mind. I sigh. I appreciate that he took be to the nurse, even if I looked like crap and felt like I hit my head on a ton of rocks when I came to (when I came home after this whole fiasco, my mom screamed when she saw me. When I ran upstairs to look in the mirror, I gasped. My face was streaked with mud and dirt, well, whatever was left after that impromptu shower. My hair was as knotted as a ball of yarn and was full of leaves, sticks, a few bugs, and one small rock. I almost looked worse than I did on the plane. I had to take three showers and a bath to look presentable again!). I even appreciate his honesty, but he didn't have to be such a, well, such an ass. I feel myself bristle at the thought of his words. Who was he calling an idiot? He doesn't even know me!

I roll onto my side so I'm staring outside at my front yard and the street, all illuminated by streetlights and a full moon. Everything is silent. I sigh because I know that the only thing left for me to do is apologize. I'm pretty stubborn and it can be hard for me to admit when I'm wrong, but I feel bad for wasting his time like that. He's a total tool, but I've got to be the bigger person, here. I close my eyes and let my mind wander.

Wait…how did a live koala get to Japan?

Before I can think about the answer to this bizarre question, I fall asleep.


	10. 1 on 1 Vs Taco

_"I never underestimate my opponent, but I never underestimate my talents."_

 _-Hale Irwin_

 **Chapter 10**

 **Rose's POV**

It's Wednesday, Day 3 of school and life in Japan, and today, I'm going to make up for yesterday's mistakes! Determined, I hurry to get ready for school and be even earlier than the last two days. I throw on my uniform, put my hair in its usual off-center (slightly to the left, of course) high ponytail, grab my school bag and then scamper down the stairs into the kitchen.

" _Ohayo_ mama!" I smile brightly and put some bread in the toaster.

"You sure are up early and you're in such a good mood this morning! What got into you? I thought that yesterday was a rough day?" My mom, who was sitting at the kitchen table, gets up to pour herself some coffee.

"I know! I even woke up before my alarm. I just really wanted to get to school early so I could shoot around at the gym. It really clears my head." I smile brightly at the thought of playing basketball. It feels like ages since I've picked up a ball.

"Well I'm proud of you, sweetie. That's the competitive drive that your father and I love to see! A Matlin-"

"Never quits," I finish for her, rolling my eyes. "I know, I know!" I smile at her and stick my thumb into my chest. "Don't worry, mother dear, you raised me right!" Now it's Mom's turn to roll her eyes.

"Oh Rose, flattery will get you nowhere… But I sure did do a great job of raising you two, didn't I?" She smiles smugly and tries to look at her reflection in the spoon she had been using to stir her coffee. My bread pops out of the toaster and as I'm spreading a copious amount of peanut butter onto it, my dad walks into the room with Mikey trailing closely behind him.

"Honey, _we_ did a good job raising them! Don't forget about your beloved husband," Dad says with a smile.

"Uh huh," Mom replies, clearly paying no attention. I start eating my toast but pause as I give Mikey a double-take.

"Mikey! You sure are up early, what's gotten into _you_?" I ask my little brother in shock. He glances up from his DS for a second before his eyes dart back to whatever game seems to be so captivating that he can never look up from it for long.

"I heard that everyone was up and since I never sleep, I decided to make an appearance." Mikey answers, deadpanned. I laugh at first, thinking he's joking about the sleep, but when I see the serious look on his face, I run over, grab his head, and force him to look into my eyes.

"Your eyes, they're _bloodshot_! Oh my God!" I exclaim in surprise.

"I told you, Rose. I don't sleep. Can you let go of me, Noodles is about to enter a Frisbee-catching contest."

"Ehhh?" I let go of his head and glance at his screen. He snarls at me and pushes me away, but not before I see the game that has captivated him so.

"…Nintendogs, really?" I burst out laughing and he whacks me upside the head.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" I use Dad's tie to dry the tears that fallen due to how hard I was laughing (he's reading the paper so he doesn't even notice).

"Calm down, I'm going, I'm going." I hold my hands up like I'm saying "I'm innocent!" I finish my toast, grab my stuff, and then walk to the door. "Hey, buddy don't worry. Your secret is safe with me!" I wink at Mikey and stifle a few giggles.

"Go. Now." I shoot him a bright smile and he looks up long enough to meet it with a glare, and then I walk out the front door. As soon as I am outside, I pull out my cellphone.

"Yo, Taco!"

"Taco? Rose-chan are you high?" Takao asks, confused.

"Haha, no Taco, it's my new nickname for you! It has a nice ring to it, don't you think? I mean Takao kinda sounds like Taco. Takao, Taco. Takao, Taco. Takao-"

"Yes, I get it already!" he cuts me off, laughing. "So, why are you calling me this early in the morning, young lady?"

"I got up early so I could shoot around at the gym and I was wondering if you'd like to join me."

"Rose-chan, what a coincidence! I'm already at the gym now! Looks like great minds think alike. Get here as soon as you can, I want to see what you can do, American Girl!"

I grin and feel my excitement soaring by the second. "I'm on my way, and I'm taking you down!"

Takao laughs. "I like your competitive spirit, my friend, but don't get ahead of yourself. You don't know who you're messing with!"

"Alright, well, I'm like a minute away, so we'll see about that. Beat you, I mean see you soon!"

"Ha ha, very funny. Bye!"

I hang up and then sprint the rest of the way until I'm at the gym. I burst into the girl's locker room and start ripping my uniform off. I already have my basketball clothes on underneath. I chuckle to myself. I know that's weird, but I'm just so excited to play. Changing clothes will only waste time! I quickly put on my new neon orange basketball shoes, making sure to put on the left then the right. I pull out my lucky, fist-sized, plush clown, Leroy, and give him a little kiss on the forehead. Finally, I pull out the final touch. Ever since I started playing, I would play with a ribbon in my hair. I don't know what it is, but whenever I tie that ribbon into a bow on my ponytail, it's like a switch has been flipped and I'm ready to play. My new ribbon is orange, to match the Shutoko color scheme. I tie it into my ponytail and stand up from the wooden bench. I'm ready to go.

The moment I leave the locker room, I am rooted in place. This gym is _huge_ , way bigger than any high school gym I played in back at home. This is my home now. Being in here… it feels so right.

"Wow…" I let out a low whistle as I look around at the rows and rows of orange and white bleachers and then down as the huge, shiny wooden floor. Takao is standing in the middle of the court, looking at me with a bright smile. He has a ball tucked under his arm and his other hand is waving at me fervently. His shirt is already revealing sweat stains, proof of the hard work he must have been doing before his arrival.

"Rose-chan that was fast! So great to see you!"

"Taco! Thanks for letting me share the floor with you. I'll just warm up and stretch and then let's play some 1-on-1!"

"No problem, I'm happy you're here! Alright, I can hardly wait!" He grins at me and then starts practicing his dribbling. As I run laps around the court and stretch, I catch myself glancing at him to see what he can do. _Hey, he's good!_ I know that beating him probably won't be too easy. I'm excited for the challenge. I finish warming up and stretching and then skip eagerly out to the center of the court.

"Taco-kun, I'm ready!" I stick my bottom lip out in a pout and try to make my eyes as wide as possible. "Don't go too hard on me, okay?" Takao laughs.

"Rose-chan, what happened to all of that bravado you had over the phone? But don't worry, I'll try not to crush you _too_ badly." I smirk at him an feel my eyes narrow dangerously.

"Ladies first!" I say. His eyes widen slightly, but he laughs anyway.

"I love this sassy side of you, Rose-chan!" His expression grows serious too. "First to 11 baskets, let's go."

I nod. Takao starts dribbling and I take my defensive stance. However, I stand up much higher than I ever normally would. I'm just feeling him out. I want to see what he can do. He crosses left and then goes through the legs back to his right hand and lurches forward. I open up my hips on purpose and let him drive past me to score an easy layup. _He's fast…_ I think. _But I'm faster_.

"Crap, it looks like you've scored first. And so easily too. Darn, I guess I was a fool to think I could beat you." I say these things and try to feign innocence, but I know that I've got him. It's my ball. No more playing around. Takao tosses me the ball and I stand at the top of the key.

"You've got to be better than that Rose-chan. Don't underestimate me! I honestly expected a little more from you, coming from America and all." I raise my eyebrows at him.

"Is that so, Taco?" Let's do this.

I get low and start to dribble in place. Looking at his eyes, I can tell he's a special player. He's so focused. He's smart on the floor, his vision seems good. But I don't think even his eyes can help him now. I smirk and start changing the pace of my dribbles. I see that his stance is wide enough and I know that he's fallen into my first trap. I bounce the ball through Takao's open legs, sprint around him, and the catch the ball on the other side. I dribble in and score the easy layup. When I turn around, I see that Takao is frozen in place, a look of shock covering his face.

"What… what was that?"

"Oh, Takao-kun, you haven't seen nothin' yet."


	11. The First Real Lesson

***Author's Note: I just want to say a quick "Thank You" to everyone that has commented (shoutout to RomanticKissez, doodlebugrox, TheRandomSekihanFan, and all guests leaving comments, they give me motivation and make me smile!), favorited, and followed my story, it means a lot. I love your feedback, so please continue to do all three of these things :) I apologize for my sporadic updates! Just hang in there because trust me, there is plenty of excitement coming soon enough!***

 _"Learning never exhausts the mind."_

 _-Leonardo da Vinci_

 **Chapter 11**

 **Rose's POV**

"Stop smiling like an idiot and focus on the sentence. You're wasting my time yet again, nanodayo."

The stupid green-haired giant pushes his glasses and looks down his nose at me condescendingly. I take a deep breath and count to ten in my head to avoid lashing out at him and saying something that will just get me into trouble. I've been in an amazing mood since this morning. Playing basketball with a friend? I couldn't ask for a better way to start the day. Even Koala Boy's rudeness won't bring me down. Speaking of the koala…

"Hey um, Greeny, why did you have a live koala yesterday?"

"My name is Midorima Shintarou, don't disrespect me. And it was my lucky item for the day, don't be stupid, nanodayo." I wasn't seeing things? He really _did_ have a live koala? This guy…

"So is that sombrero you're wearing today's lucky item or is that just a fashion statement? Are we even allowed to wear hats in school?"

"You ask too many questions. Translate this sentence." Mido-lamo (ha, good one, right? No? Oh…I tried L) orders. I sigh in defeat and start flipping through the dictionary. Let's see, what's the Japanese word for "foul"? I flip through the pages until I land in the fou- section. I scan the page when my gaze stops abruptly on one word.

"Hey, guess what?"

"Stop trying to stall and just translate the sentence!"

"I will, I know, it's just… I just found this really good word to describe you. Hey, don't make that face, turn that frown upside down! Don't worry, it's super flattering!" There is a long pause before Mido-lamo says anything.

"…not that I care, but what is it, since you're clearly so desperate to tell me. I'm not asking you to tell me by the way, you just clearly want me to know, I just want you to spit it out and get on with the lesson."

"Uh… okay then…" I give him a weird look and then roll my eyes. What an oddball… I shake my head and smile brightly at him before putting my hand on his shoulder and calling him:

" _Megane!"_ His jaw drops and he wears a look of shock, disgust, and anger. He slaps my hand off of his shoulder.

" _Megane_?! Just because someone wears glasses does _not_ give you the right to insult them. How dare you… And just so you know, typically people who wear glasses are intellectually superior, so the joke is on _you,_ nanodayo." Ha, his face is getting red! I have to hold back my giggles with my hand.

"I feel like there's no scientific proof of that…"

"You only say that because you're jealous." I smirk in response.

"Jealous? I wear glasses too! Does that mean we're equally intelligent?" He looks taken aback.

"How dare you lie so carelessly to my face? I can see with my own eyes that you're not wearing glasses, _baka_!" I roll my eyes.

"They're called _contacts_ , genius! I play sports so I can't wear glasses in games. They would just get in the way or break or something. I'm a serious athlete, you wouldn't understand." I furrow my eyebrows as the corners of Greeny's mouth quirk up slightly to reveal an annoying smirk.

"Is that so?" What is he talking about? Ugh it doesn't matter, I just need to get back to the lesson. I sigh in defeat and frustration as I continue studying the Japanese-English dictionary in front of me.

"…I don't have all day." A tic mark pops up on my head. This guy is a real piece of work.

"I'M WORKING AS FAST AS I CAN!" I shout back at him. Suddenly, the door of our study room opens.

An angry-looking blonde upperclassmen opens the door and scowls down at us. "Hey, lovebirds," Greeny and I both gasp and try to protest and explain our mutual dislike but he just speaks over us. "Quit having your little lover's quarrel and shut up. This is a library, not a playground. God, First Years have no manners, I swear." He glares at us one more time before slamming the door shut behind him.

"If it's so important to be quiet, why'd he slam the door so hard?" I murmur to myself, confused.

"…Lovebirds?" Greeny repeats. He looks like he's about to throw up.

"Ha, well this has been a somewhat productive first lesson. Look at the time, though. It's late." Sure enough, the clock read 4:45. We were supposed to finish fifteen minutes ago.

"I can't believe I let your antics distract me once again, you fool. Before you go, I have some materials for you to look over before our next meeting."

"Uh, okay…" He then proceeded to pull out volume after volume of phonebook-sized textbooks from his bag, piling them up to a stack half my height before pushing them into my arms. Oh my God, these books are _heavy_! My arms are shaking horribly and I think over what he just said.

"But…isn't our next meeting tomorrow?"

"Yes. I want you to have filled out and read all of these workbooks and textbooks by tomorrow. If that is too much to ask then I won't be surprised. It only proves that you are as weak as I first assumed you were." That jerk…

"I'm not weak! I-I can do this! And that's a promise." I suddenly bow, or bow as much as I can while holding thirty pounds of books. "Th-thank you, Green Bean-kun. And I just wanted to uh apologize for my behavior yesterday. It was embarrassing, to say the least. And I feel bad that we started off on the wrong foot. But don't get the wrong idea. We are _not_ friends! I still don't like or respect you, but you are my tutor so I am forced to listen to you so we can at least be civil!"

Greeny just stares at me for a minute, his expression unreadable. With a "hmph", he grabs his bag, turns abruptly, and leaves the room.

"What a tool… couldn't even accept my apology. I guess I have to be the bigger person." I shake my head in disgrace before attempting to steel my already aching arms with the thought that if I could hold all of these books the whole way home, I'd be strong enough to knock Greeny's lights out in one punch. That thought gives me strength and a smile. I walk out of the door and make my way back home.


	12. I Hate Him

_"_ _I don't hate you.. I just don't like that you exist"_

 _-Gena Showalter_

 **Chapter 12**

 **Rose's POV**

I have to organize my work for tomorrow's classes, visit my shoe locker (still a very new phenomenon for me, but I like these little-slipper-indoor-shoe-thingies!), and then slowly lug my stack of heavy books out of school. A big clock outside of the school building tells me that it is 5:50 PM… Woah! How did it get that late? Where did the time go? I try to pay more attention to my surroundings, and suddenly I realize that it's getting kind of dark out. _Crap_. I used to always take the school bus to and from school or my parents took me, when I lived back in Boston, so this whole getting myself to school thing still puts me a little on edge. For the most part, it's nice having this new sense of independence. But when daylight is quickly fading, I can't help but get a little scared (no matter how stupid that may seem).

I take deep breaths. _Inhale. 1…2…3…Hold. 1…2…3…Exhale. 1…2…3… Repeat._ Controlled breathing gradually calms be down, but it also grows increasingly difficult to control my breathing when I'm forced to carry this pile of bricks! _Curse you Mido-lamo Shin-stupido_. My arms keep shaking and sagging under all of this weight. I haven't even gotten that far. I'm starting to consider just leaving these dumb things here! I don't think I can keep this up for much longer…

"Hey, schoolgirl, need some help? I'd love to lend a hand."

I can't see who is talking to me because of the big stack of books covering my face. I feel grateful for this stranger's offer, that is, until I feel his hand reach around me and grab my butt. I yelp at the sudden contact of a complete stranger and step back hastily. My sudden movement causes all of my books to fall to the ground. I sigh. Greeny won't be happy about that.

"Thanks for getting rid of that barrier, foreigner, those books were getting annoying. Now nothing can stop me from showing you everything my mouth can do."

EW, WHAT?! This slimy, corn-rows-haired, pierced-ears, mean-eyed creep is really starting to make me mad. No one touches my luscious buns without my permission, damn it!

"Get lost, creep!" I try to sidestep the creepy guy but he effortlessly blocks my path.

"Tsk, tsk, you should learn to be more obedient! Keep talking like that and I'll have to punish you."

He grins creepily and has a primal, frightening look in his eyes. My arms feel like they're frozen at my sides, my whole body feels frozen. I've never been in a situation like this before and I don't know what to do. It's getting dark and no one is around to save me on this empty alleyway shortcut I found on my last walk home (note to self, avoid alleyways forever from this point forward). I'm scared. Someone, anyone, please help. I scream.

"You'll regret that one, bitch." What did he just call me?

Before I have time to comprehend his words, his throws a roughly throws a hand over my mouth and tightens the other one around my throat. I guess help isn't coming… I try to pry my assailant's hands away so I can tell him something urgent.

"You…your hand. It smells like beef and wet dog."

Oops. He didn't like that. His death grip on my neck tightens and my arms start flailing around. He dodges any kick or punch I throw at him and starts shaking me. I want to tell him that it's getting hard to breathe but I have the sneaking suspicion that he wouldn't really care. I think I'm going to die. This seriously sucks, this-

"What the hell?"

A deep voice rips me from my thoughts. A person! Someone's come to rescue me! My eyes are squeezed shut so I don't have to look at the creep's nasty face, so I don't know who it is, but the voice sounds really familiar. It irks yet also comforts me. Weird. I still don't open my eyes because part of me is just scared that I'm imagining begng saved, that it's just wishful thinking.

"Oi, Haizaki, I see you're still trash."

"It's been a while. I see you still have a way with words, _ganguro_."

I can just imagine the creep—Hizaki, if I've heard correctly—smirking smugly after saying this. God, I'd love to knock the smirk right off of his fa-.

 _Smack_.

I'm falling. I shut my eyes even more tightly, if possible, because I know that I was suspended a good distance above the ground and hitting the gravel below is going to hurt. But the only thing I hit is a hard abdomen. _Did I just get caught by…a six-pack?!_ Oh my god, oh my god. I just was saved by a guy with a six-pack! I open my eyes and turn around, coming face to face with a pair of dark blue eyes squinting down at me in the dark. We study each other for a few seconds before recognition hits us both lick a Mack truck.

"You?"

We both exclaim at once in mutual shock, disgust, and annoyance. Realizing my precarious position, I quickly push myself off of him and stand up, dusting my uniform off. I survery my surroundings: my books are scattered everywhere and Haizaki is lying (presumably unconscious) head-first in a nearby dumpster. _What the…?_ I grab the nearest book and march over to my "hero", Aomine Daiki. He smirks up at me.

"I just saved your ass, you're supposed to thank me."

"Saved me? I don't need your help, I can take care of myself, Aho-mine!"

" _Tch_ , yeah right. You were waving your arms around like a total dumbass. You can't mess around with someone like Haizaki, he's dangerous."

"You _know_ that guy?" I can't help but be suspicious. "No wonder you're such a jerk, he probably taught you everything he knows, right?"

"Hey, don't compare me to someone like him. I'm not like that."

He actually seems pretty hurt at the comparison I just made. I don't know their relationship, did I strike a nerve? Do I feel bad about insulting him?

"I didn't have to help you, Mosquito Bites."

Okay, I definitely don't feel bad about insulting him. I want to _kill_ him. I smack him hard with the book in my hands instead.

"The hell? You've got some nerve. I was on my way to buy myself a new magazine, since _you_ had to ruin my last one, and then I came across this scene. I only did this 'cause I hate Haizaki. I didn't do it for you."

I bristle at his somewhat harsh words but I decide to let them go. He did save me, after all. Although I'm not too happy to see him, I really am grateful… I sigh.

"Thank you, Ah-, I mean Aomine-kun." He'd better accept my (reluctant) apology…

" _Tch_ , whatever. Still can't say my name right."

He stands up and I feel a tic mark form on my head. This guy… Grrr. He makes Green Bean seem easy to talk to (and that's seriously saying something). I turn away from Aho-mine and start to pick up my scattered books, one by one. I groan because my body is sore from being shaken about like a ragdoll. I won't be home before dinner if I have to drag all of my books home like this. After a few minutes, I have finally gathered all of my scattered belongings, so shakily, I begin walking towards my home.

I blink and then all of the books have disappeared. The huge mass that I was just carrying is now gone. My arms are outstretched and empty. What? Did I drop them again? My head starts whipping around, looking all directions, until finally I look on my left and see Aho-mine carrying all of my books.

"I'm not helping you, just so you know. I'm just doing this to save my own ass. I don't want Satsuki to give me third degree because I didn't help her stupid pen pal. Getting yelled at is exhausting and annoying. Plus, you look pretty weak so you wouldn't have made it very far."

This guy, he really can't do anything nice, can he? My right eye starts twitching and I clench and unclench my fists while gritting my teeth. _Deep breaths, deep breaths. 1, 2, 3. 1, 2, 3. I want to kill him, 1, 2, 3._ I don't think that the breathing exercises are helping. Sighing in defeat. I just focus on leading the _ganguro_ (not sure what it means yet but since Aho-mine doesn't like it, I'll definitely remember it from now on!) to my house. After what seems like forever, filled by the nothingness of a ridiculously awkward silence, we stop.

"Well, this is me."

He glances over at my house, bored. "Whatever."

I force myself to give him a little bow. "Thanks again."

He smirks, shoves the books into my arms (rude) and then turns away. I watch him go for a little while before snapping out of my little trance and then walking into the front door (which is seriously a huge struggle to open without using your hands. DARN YOU GREEN GIANT AND YOUR STUPID BOOKS!). I walk inside and drop my books in relief, causing them to land on the wooden floor with a loud _thud_ and creating a tiny earthquakes that makes all of the family photos on the wall fall to the ground. I turn to lock the door, then when I turn back towards the dining room, I'm nose to nose with my mom.

"Ahh!" I scream and step back in fright, flattening my back and hands against the door behind me.

"Who was that boy, Rose? Is he the reason why you're so late? Is that your boyfriend? Are these books all of his love letters to you?"

"Mom, what the heck? No, I hate that kid! He's the worst. And why I'm late…well, it's a long story. But for the last time, I don't have a boyfriend, please stop asking me these invasive questions."

"Rose, I birthed you, nothing that I ask is ever too invasive!"

That's some messed up logic… Oh, she's opening her mouth again. Crud, she's still going.

"And I'll just end it at this—" she said she's ending soon, yes! "—never say never, okay? When you keep an open mind, people may just surprise you."

I nod to appease her, but I'm not really listening.

I hate Aomine Daiki.


	13. There's No Such Thing As Luck

_**"**_ _ **You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from."  
**_ _ **-Cormac McCarthy**_

 **Chapter Thirteen**

 **Rose's POV**

If there's anyone I hate more than Aomine Daiki, in this moment it's Midorima Shintarou. I stayed up _all night_ reading and filling out page after page of his stupid workbooks, even though I wanted nothing more than to go to bed after being assaulted and sort of rescued (it's not like I needed help, anyway). I probably slept an hour, tops. So here I am now on my way to school, pushing a bright red wheelbarrow full of the, what feels like 50-some pound stack of books, my whole body screaming out in a mixture of fatigue, as well as soreness from being thrown about like a ragdoll, but when I commit to something, I always follow through, so this is no exception. I still hate him for all of this work, though. He probably has no life and ample time to do schoolwork, but _I'm_ actually busy with basketball and trying to understand Japanese, so it's ridiculous of him to thrust this upon me.

With a huff, I decide to take a break, my sixth one so far, about a block from Shutoku High. What's usually a ten minute walk has taken me half an hour so far. UGH. I sigh, dropping the wheelbarrow handles for a moment, and gaze at the scrapes and bruises that color my arms and legs. I shrug. I've never minded bruises, I actually like them because I feel tougher with them. I'm annoyed, though, because these new aches may be a slight inconvenience for tomorrow's try-outs. I'm so out of it, I couldn't even _spell_ "basketball" right now, let alone think of playing it. I just need to focus on school and the look that'll be on Mido-lamo's face when I plop these full books down in front of him. I scowl as I think of the scene, though, because there's no doubt in my mind that the stupid green-haired giant won't be even close to impressed. Thinking of that perpetual pretentious look on the Green-head's face honestly makes me want to turn around this very second, but I know that it wouldn't be worth it at this point. With one last exhale, I grab the wheelbarrow and journey forth. Let's just get this over with.

…...

So, apparently I'm late to school. Like, an hour late. I guess all of those heavy books and the total absence of sleep really screwed me over more than I thought! Oh no, oh no, oh no. I hide the wheelbarrow behind a bush outside of the school (wouldn't want anyone to steal my precious textbooks) and then I sprint up to my classroom as fast as my legs can take me. I stop y outside of the door for a second to compose myself. _Deep breaths. In and out._ I tell myself that Mai-sensei will show me some mercy. Mai-sensei is the youngest teacher at Shutoku and is said to be the kindest and most beautiful by far. People keep telling me how lucky I am to have her as a hometown teacher, but I sometimes get this weird vibe that she hates me. I shake it off and then open the door.

The class seems to be on a short break and Mai-sensei sits alone at her desk, working on something. She smiles warmly as she hears the door open, but when her gaze land on me, her smile falls off and her eyes turn cold and hateful. What?! I'm just imagining things…

"Mai-sensei, hi, I'm _so_ sorry for my tardiness. It will never happen again."

"Have you a reason for your tardiness?" she asks with venom in her voice.

"Uh, yeah actually, so there's this wheelbarrow and-"

"Silence," she cuts me off. "No excuses. Excuses are for the weak."

"B-but you just-"

"I hate you."

 _What?!_ Where is this hostility coming from?!

"Hey, Matlin, I want to show you something."

I thought it was proper to use honorifics, even if you're a teacher. Huh. This is weird. Slowly, I creep forward so I can see what she is holding towards my face. It's… my face… cut into many, _many_ pieces. Oh my Lord! Should I report this psycho? I start shaking. Is she gonna kill me with her scissors?!

"Matlin, I've got great news. You're not in my class anymore. Get out of my sight."

"What?!" I nearly yell. This has to be a joke.

"Speak to me with some respect, you American ape. You're in Itami-sensei's homeroom now, 1-A. You're pretty dumb, so I just want to make sure you know, _itami_ in Japanese means _pain_. I hope that old Itami tears you apart."

And with that, she turned her attention back to cutting my face up, and so I left the room, stunned. A new class after only four days at this school! Why? And what the _heck_ is her problem? I guess she hates Americans or something. Wow, if the nice teacher at school hates me, then Itami-sensei really will rip me apart. I've heard the stories about old Itami. He's the toughest and scariest teacher in the whole school. His first years are said to be the cream of the crop, and even the best barely make it out alive. Why me?! He'll spot my weakness from a mile away. This is _not_ gonna go well at all.

My breathing is ragged and my body shakes. I guess I should just bite the bullet. I clench my fists and furrow my brow before sprinting at Itami-sensei's room. I don't slow down, I hurl into that room like my butt is on fire. Everyone stares at me, but I'm looking straight at the infamous Itami-sensei. He is a strong looking man of about 60 years old with a thick head of gray hair, tanned wrinkled skin, stern eyes, and a mouth turned down in what seemed to be a look of

perpetual disdain. Oh no. Well, I guess I've made quite the entrance.

"Matlin Rose?"

"Um, _hai_ , sir."

I quiver under his piercing gaze as he stares into my soul. He's going to destroy me in front of all of my new classmates, oh no…

"What's with the bruises?" My eyes widen. This question totally gets me off guard. So, I say the first thing that pops into my head.

"Oh well, you see, sir, it's a crazy story really. I'll spare you the details, but basically, I was on my way home when I saw that a masked man with an ax robbed an innocent old woman of her purse. I knew that I had to take action, even if it meant risking my life. So I took chase after the axman and I tackled him to the ground. He swung his ax at me but I deftly dodged it over and over. Then I punched him in the face and knocked his lights out and saved the day. I got a few scrapes along the way, but I'm just glad I got to help someone and do my duty as a humble citizen of Japan."

What the heck did I just say? Where did that come from? Oh God, no one's going to believe that crazy story. He's going to expel me. He's staring at me now. The whole class stares at me, and I stand in the middle of a deafening silence. All of a sudden, Itami-sensei starts clapping. It's slow at first but then becomes fast and thunderous. Soon the whole class seems to follow his lead and cheers, I think I even hear a holler from one of the students. What is going on?!

"Matlin Rose, I had a feeling when I first saw you, but now I'm sure. You, my child, are a hero."

"For real?" I ask, mouth agape. His down turned mouth breaks out into a grin and he looks 30 years younger. Without warning, he charges at me and hugs me tightly, right then and there.

"It's fate that you're in my class, kid." He beams at me. Whhhaaaaatttt?! This dude is super nice, I guess the rumors were false! This school is so backwards but I dig it. Itami-sensei ends the hug and points over to an empty seat at the center of the front row in the classroom.

"Sit there, Matlin-sama."

 _Sama_?! Did my _teacher_ just call me Master? I am confused but I'm loving every second of this madness. I smile graciously and then walk towards the empty seat. Every kid I passes looks up at me with wide eyes. They murmur things like, "it's an honor to have you in the class, Matlin-sama" and "you're an angel, Matlin-sama" (i swear to god, they said these things, you can't even make this crud up, folks!), and I was just stunned that they believed my story and all were treating me like a God. Wow, I freaking love this place. I could totally get used to this! I'm still smiling as I reach the middle of the classroom and approach my seat, when suddenly I hear a familiar, "Rose-chan!"

"Taco?"

"In the flesh!" I'm in Takao-kun's class? I must be the luckiest person in the whole world!

"No way! Taco this is awesome! But how is there this empty seat here next to you, who wouldn't wanna sit with you?"

He grins. "Oh, well Shin-chan doesn't let me sit next within a one desk radius of him so this is the best I could do!"

"Takao, silence!" Itami-sensei shouts at Taco to shut him up. Wow, he was _way_ nicer to me, how odd. Taco just smiles back at our sensei and pretends to zip his lips and throw away the key. Meanwhile, my thoughts are a bit preoccupied...

Shin-chan?

In what feels like slow motion, I turn my head to the left to my worst nightmare. How can this be? I must be the unluckiest person in the entire world to be switched into and seated next to the giant devil that's kept me awake all night and has caused me my embarrassing lateness. When our eyes meet, both of us freeze, eyes widened and mouths agape, as we realize, in horror, that for the rest of the year, we-who can't stand each other-will have to sit together and see each other daily. So much for his stupid lucky items. I pout and sit in my seat in a huff. I put my head face-down on my desk and nearly cry. Yeah, Aomine totally sucks, but Midorima is even worse because he's here in my face every single day now. There's really no such thing as luck.


	14. Surprise, Surprise!

**Lumiax: Thanks so much for your reviews in March! It's the reviews and readers that make me want to keep going with this story!**

 **All Readers: Please feel free to comment, favorite, and follow this story. I'm open to any and all comments and criticism, thanks for your help and support!**

* * *

 _"Unforeseen surprises are the rule in science, not the exception. Remember: stuff happens."_

 _-Leonard Susskind_

 **Chapter 14**

 **Rose's POV**

Only two good things happened to me in my new class.

1: My new homeroom teacher and classmates (almost all of them, anyway) worship me.

2: Taco said that since we sit next to each other and are in the same class now, we really are best friends so now I can call him Kazu-kun.

But besides that, sitting next the the Green Giant is a living Hell. After class, I ran to the front office to ask them why this happened. They said that Mai-sensei suggested it (I was told that she had a bad breakup with an American guy recently so now she hates all Americans, which explains a lot, actually), and this suggestion was approved because of my academic potential and that it only made sense to be in the same class as my tutor.

So here I am now, slowly pushing my wheelbarrow towards the library with what little strength I have left, on my way to another session with my beloved tutor (cue eye roll). I'm not at all looking forward to the unimpressed look on his face when I throw those books at him, he'll be like "blah blah I could've done that and more in my sleep, _nanodayo_ , blah blah". I wish I could turn around but it'd require too much effort and I'm really out of gas right now. Finally I reach the study room. Not even caring anymore, I sigh and open the door to face the Demon inside.

"I hate you."

The Demon glares at my less-than-kind greeting. He is sitting at the table, facing me. Only a pencil and a baby doll (hopefully that's his lucky item for the day and not a favorite toy. He's a freak though, so I wouldn't be surprised at the latter…) are resting on the shining oak surface. He's also holding a big eraser in his left hand.

"How many books were you able to complete?" He asks me.

With shoulders slumped and face sagging in defeat, I reply, "I don't know if everything is right, but I did all of them."

 _Thud_. The eraser falls to the floor. His mouth is hanging open and he looks at me, stunned.

"You're lying." He replies. Now I'm angry, is he taunting me?

"Look at my face! Why would I lie about this? I stayed up all night doing them, even after an-uh, unfortunate situation, you can check them yourself." I huff in indignation.

And check them he does. He speedily flips through every page of each book and when he is done, he just stares at me and mumbles something under his breath. I glare at him.

"Speak up and say it to my face, a Green Bean!" After a long pause he looks at me.

"... I guess I don't need the eraser after all," he says louder defeatedly. Eh?! Seeing my look of confusion, he pushes up his glasses and elaborates.

"American Fool, I was anticipating you to finish one of the textbooks maximum and for it to be full of mistakes but you… You got everything right. I gave you all of those workbooks out of spite. It was an impossible task that not even I could probably achieve, at least not perfectly, in a single night. I only know of one person who could do what you have done. How have you done this?"

Am I dreaming? WHAT IS GOING ON? This can't be happening…

"Are you joking?" I ask, incredulous.

He gives me a stern look and replies tersely, "I never joke." I sigh. Well, I can believe that. I shake my head and sit down (I had been pacing as he checked my answers) before fixing him with a stare. I feel confident.

"You ask me how I do this? It isn't magic or fate or luck, you Giant, the answer is simple. When I set my mind in something, I do it. I don't quit and I don't give up. No matter what it is, I try my best and I do all that's humanly possible so that I don't have any regrets."

He raises his eyebrows at that. Something that I said seems to resonate with him, but what? What is he thinking? I just look at him expectantly as if to say, so what's next?

"I see. It seems that we are done here."

 _What?_

"What?!"

Demon Boy sighs and pushes up his glasses (what's wrong with his face that they slide down so much, like why does he push them up constantly?!). "As much as it pains me to admit it, I admit fault. You're not as stupid as I first assumed. I apologize. There's nothing left for me to teach you… Go home and sleep."

His words hit me with a new wave of shock. He admitted fault and apologized? The Demon said sorry? And then he told me to sleep, as if he cared about another person's well-being? What alternate universe is this? I pinch my leg to get out of my stupor, nod towards him, and then stand up numbly. I begin to gather up the books but when I place them in the wheelbarrow, Green Haired Weirdo breaks the silence.

"What's your sign?"

What? Oh… Is this about that Oha Asa astrological sign stuff or whatever crap? I scrunch up my face and turn to him.

"Uh, Taurus, why?" Midi-lame-o raises his eyebrows and frowns a bit more, if possible. And his cheeks, they're- Oh my god! Is he blushing? Do bulls get him hot, or something?

"Leave the books." I stare at him, confused and wondering if this is an elaborate prank, and he sighs once more. "It's the least I could do, nanodayo. Consider it an apology but do not expect any kindness from me again."

I smirk. "Got it… Shin-chan!" Mido-lame-o's face goes bright red and an irk mark appears on his forehead. I snigger and skip out the door, leaving the books and wheelbarrow (it's his wheelbarrow by the way, I stole it out of spite. I guess he was so shocked at my accomplishment that he didn't even notice, MWAHAHA) behind me. Before the door closes, I hear him mumble to himself,

"She's lucky she's a Taurus…"

Without really knowing what he means by that, I shrug and begin my journey home, eagerly anticipating going to sleep early to prepare for tomorrow, the Day of All Days… Basketball Tryouts.


	15. He's A Miracle!

_"Disenchantment, whether it is a minor disappointment or a major shock, is the signal that things are moving into transition in our lives." -William Throsby Bridges_

 **Chapter 15**

 **Rose's POV**

The last day of my first week at my new school in Japan has been a blur. All I have been able to think about is my basketball tryout after school. In all honesty, it's been hard to just pick up and leave my home and friends behind. I can't seem to get used to all of the rigid customs and traditions here and I always seem to feel like an outsider wherever I go. The only place left where I feel that I belong in on the basketball court. It doesn't matter where. Every gym is home. Today I can finally play on a team again and hopefully make news friends who also love basketball. I've worked my butt off for this. I'm sure everything will turn out okay…

Before I know it, the school day has ended and my classmates are packing up and heading off to their various after school clubs and activities. I start packing up, but pause when an arm is casually thrown around my shoulder.

"Rose-chan! Watch me at our basketball tryouts today!"

Takao grins at me and I blink in response. I forgot that the boys had tryouts first. They have the first two hours after school blocked off and we were after them. I sigh. Whatever happened to ladies first?

Thinking that I was signing in response to him, Takao makes puppy-dog eyes and gets down on his knees in the middle of the now nearly empty classroom.

" _Puhhhhleasssee_ come to watch, Matlin-sama, my queen, my sun, the center of my universe. I want you to see how much I've improved since our little game!"

"Get up, and don't call me that, _baka_. Stop being weird," I can't help but laugh at him, though. I smile. "Kazu-kun, of course I'll be there. I just can't believe you can pick up a basketball again after I crushed you in our 1-on-1."

Takao pursed his lips and pouted for a bit as he remembered our friendly match before checking his watch. His eyes widened.

"Ah! I'm late! Rose-chan, see you there, _AhIGottaGoOrTheSenpaisWillKickMyAsssss!"_

I couldn't really understand the last part since he yelled it out so fast, but it must have been important to make him sprint out the door the way he did. I let out a laugh. Never a dull moment when Takao's around!

I look around the classroom and find that I am now alone. "Shin-chan" sure left in a hurry. He was out the door the second class ended, which was pretty unusual for him. He doesn't seem the type to ever get excited about anything. Yesterday I was going to tell him that I couldn't go to tutoring today because of basketball tryouts but he beat me to the punch and said that we won't need to work together anymore. Have I improved that much in such a short time? I shrug. I guess hard work always wins. The _megane_ quickly slips from my mind as I focus on basketball again. I decide to get ready early. I head over to the girl's locker room and slowly change into my practice clothes, baggy basketball shorts, a reversible jersey that says "Boston College," white kneepads, and my neon orange basketball shoes. As usual, I put the kneepads then my shoes on left then right (all athletes are at least a _little_ superstitious, okay?!), give my lucky clown Leroy a squeeze, and then tie the orange ribbon around my ponytail. I'm ready! I glance at a clock on the wall and see that the boys are about 45 minutes into their tryout. I grab my empty Gatorade water bottle and head out to the gym's lobby to begin filling it when I hear a familiar voice call my name.

"Rose-chan!" before I know it, I was engulfed in a bear hug by none other than Momoi Satsuki. I stumble back a bit as a result of her launching herself at me so forcefully.

"Woah! Sa-chan, what're you doing here?" I ask her. I'm happy to see her but I'm really confused.

"We came to see you practice, of course!" Her facial expression changed a bit. "I guess we came a bit too early by accident though, oops!" The way she said that was kinda suspicious…

"Let me guess you're scouting our guys?" I ask with a small smile. Sa-chan gasps.

"Am I that easy to read?!" She asks, sulking a bit like Takao was early. I laugh and pat her head.

"It's okay Sa-chan, you're just being a good manager!" She brightens immediately at this. But after a few seconds thinking about what she told me, I frown at her. "Sa-chan, did you say 'we'?" Sa-chan smiled.

"Oh yeah! I dragged Dai-chan out here too so you can wow him with your basketball!" She beams at me innocently but my eyes grow wide as saucers. I look down and sure enough there's a brown sack with a big, human-sized lump wriggling around inside. Oh God. Why is _he_ here?! I feel my brows furrow and my frown fall deeper. I sigh. I spent this last year trying to incorporate some of his carefree and freeform playing style into my own basketball. I know that I'm not at his level, but I am kind of glad that I have the opportunity to prove my strength to him. Unconsciously I start shaking my fist in his general direction and a tic mark has appeared on my forehead. Maybe that blue-haired brat will finally show me the respect I deserve!

"Uh, Rose-chan are you okay?" Sa-chan asks me with big eyes, clearly concerned for my well-being. I snap myself out of it by shaking my head a bit and then beam at her.

"Of course, I'm _golden_ , dear Sa-chan. Why would you ask such a thing?" Sa-chan narrows her eyes at me.

"Well, you're acting really weird right now. And just before you were shaking your fist at a wall…"

"You're just imagining stuff! Come on, let's just go in. I really appreciate that you came out here for me, by the way. Now let's go see what dirt you can dig up on these Shutoku guys!" We both laugh as we step into the gym and head towards the mostly empty bleachers with Aomine trailing behind us, as Sa-chan drags his in his sack. I give the sack a little kick once or twice, pretending to have tripped on my way over, before we take our seats front and center. By now, it's about an hour into the tryout and the boys are now gathered at center court, clearly about to scrimmage each other. Sa-chan lets Aomine out of the sack.

"Satsuki I'm gonna kill you. I don't wanna be here, dammit!" Aomine looks mad and bored at the same time. Then his glance falls on me and he grows even angrier. "You kicked me, you American Devil Woman!"

"Oh sorry, I thought there was a wild animal in that sack and I was just trying to subdue it so no one would get hurt. Guess I was right about there being a dirty animal in there…" I deadpan at him. His glaring eyes widen a bit.

"What the hell? You should be worshipping me after I saved your sorry ass the other night. I'm leaving, Satsuki." Sa-chan threw a gravure magazine at him, which caused him to halt and sit back down on the bench. He started grumbling to himself before stretching out on a row of the wooden bleachers and put the magazine over his head.

"Nobody bother me."

I shrug but when I look at Sa-chan, she's staring at me with a smirk on her face.

"Soooo...What were you two doing the other night?" I blush. She made it sound like we were on a date or something!

"God Sa-chan, stop insinuating things, you know we hate each other. We just ran into each other, that's all. It was unpleasant, just as you'd expect. Oh look, they're about to start playing, shouldn't you be taking notes?" I laugh nervously and she just shrugs and pulls out her pink notebook and pen. I take a swig of water from my water bottle to relieve my dry mouth, but as I survey the court, my eyes lock with a pair of green ones. Before I can stop myself, I spit out my water.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" I yell at him in confusion and outrage. He stares back at me, his eyes fixed in a scathing glare. He has this expression that's kind of like he just ate something really sour. How unattractive.

"I should be the one asking _you_ that," he says, as he pushes up his glasses obnoxiously (maybe he should buy a pair of glasses that fit his face since his keep falling down all the time? Frickin' idiot!). "And your lack of manners and femininity makes me sick. Keep your drink in your mouth, you moron." That's seriously rude! I thought I'd earned his respect at the last tutoring session, but I guess nothing has changed…

"Hey, Midorima, quit talking to your girlfriend and start playing basketball!" The angry looking blonde senpai from the library yells at Midorima and punches him lightly in the gut while muttering "...stupid _kouhai_ ". Before either Midorima or me can correct the angry senior (there's no way in hell I'd date an unfeeling nutcase like that) I feel an arm thrown around my shoulder.

"Oi, blonde guy, she's actually _my_ girlfriend," Aomine Daiki announces to the entire gym, causing me to choke on my own saliva. _What. The. Heck?!_ He laughs wildly and then shoves my head into his armpit, which to most of the people here may have looked like an affectionate embrace, he is actually just forcing me to smell his nasty pits.

Sa-chan gasps and drops her pink notepad. Takao whines and asks why I didn't tell him. Midorima's face is still expressionless as he demands that we all leave. Aomine just leans over to my ear and whispers, "This is payback for what you did to Mai-chan". Good God, I can't believe he would stoop this low and publicly humiliate me like this. I growl and then shove him off, yelling "WE ARE NOT DATING" so that even all of my friends back home in the U.S. could have heard it. "Does this mean you're single?" some weird, dark haired guy in what appears to be a "Kaijo" uniform asks, popping his head into the gym and then suddenly disappearing as quickly as he appeared (I wonder if I imagined that last part?). Everyone seems to be yelling and making a commotion all at once, and I feel bad because I feel kind of responsible, even if it was stupid Aho-mine that started it. All of a sudden, the gymnasium door flies open.

"Hmmm… hmmm… what seems to be going on here?" A middle aged man with mid length black hair and wrinkles around his mouth stands at the door, a whistle in one hand and a clipboard in the other. At the sound of his voice, everyone freezes and the whole gym becomes dead quiet. By the amount of respect he demands from these unruly guys and judging by the objects in his hands, it's clear that this guy is the coach of Shutoku's boy's basketball club. He glances up at us, eyes pausing for a few seconds when landing on Aomine, who is once again lying down with a magazine covering his face, and then pausing once more when he sees me. Is he angry? Will he throw me out? I start sweating a bit, but then he turns back and refocuses his attention on his team.

"Should I use this brand new whistle that I just ran out to buy from the best sports goods store in the area, or can you line up on your own?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Shutoku players and hopeful first years all lined up along the baseline, waiting for further instructions from their coach. After a pause, the coach separated the players into two teams: first years and then seasoned upperclassmen. They would go head-to-head in order to earn a spot on the team. No one was a guaranteed starter, regardless of age or personal situation. To be a Shutoku player, these guys would have to earn their spot. I unconsciously scoot to the edge of my seat and hold my breath in anticipation. While the separate teams discuss gameplans seriously in their huddles, Sa-chan turns to me. She has regained her composure since Aomine's disturbing course of revenge, and now looks at me inquisitively.

"I'm not dating anyone! I would've told you first, I swear!" I say quickly and somewhat defensively, preparing to be buried beneath questions regarding my non existent lovelife. Sa-chan smiles and then pinches my cheek.

"I know, Rose-chan! I seriously love being around you and your crazy antics!" She laughs but then looks at me with confusion again, and I mirror her confusion as I stare back at her, wondering what she could be wondering about. My head is starting to spin from all of this wondering! She finally speaks her mind.

"Rose-chan, why were you so shocked to see Midorin here?" _Huh?_

"Midorin…?" Sa-chan's eyes flicker over to Shin-chan and back again. "Oh. Wait, you know him? And uh yeah, I'm trying to put this in the nicest way possible but Four Eyes over there doesn't really seem like the athletic type. I mean, for crying out loud, in class I have to watch him file his nails, tape his fingers, and carry freaky "lucky" items everyday. The guy's a straight up ween."

Aomine snorts out a laugh from under his magazine while Sa-chan fixes me with a look of pure bewilderment.

"He was in the film that I sent you last year." My throat suddenly becomes dry and my eyes grow wide. She can't mean…

"...What?"

"You know, the highlights from Teiko." Woah, all of a sudden my head is spinning.

"Uh, so you're telling me that the Green Bean over there is part of the Generation of Miracles?" Sa-chan looks shocked by my question.

"He was the best shooter in the GoM. He was known for never missing a shot. How could you not know this, Rose-chan?!"

"Are you pulling my leg?" Sa-chan just shakes her head at me, exasperated. "Huh, well I guess because I paid all of my attention to that dumb _ganguro_ over there, I never noticed the other Miracles. I guess I have a lot to learn…"

"Oi, I already told you that I'm not interested," Aomine calls out from under the magazine.

"I hate you," I reply immediately and sincerely in a deadpanned fashion. Aomine just replies by lifting the magazine up a fit to sarcastically blow me a kiss, causing me to gag, which causes him to snicker at my obvious discomfort. This guy is the worst… Before I can beat the tanned moron up, Sa-chan does it for me by smacking him in the leg with her notepad. We smirk at each other before she points towards the court, immediately gaining my full attention.

"Looks like they're starting."

I stare down at center court as the two teams prepare to jump for possession of the ball. A strong looking crew of five upperclassmen, who I can only assume are Shutoku's starters, look very confident as they match up with a first year starting lineup that includes Takao and Shin-chan. With a blow of the coach's whistle, the game begins.

I marvel at Takao's fantastic court vision and passing ability and am impressed by the obvious talent and strength displayed by the upperclassman squad. Most of my attention, though, is drawn to the Green Haired Giant. I'm still in disbelief regarding what Sa-chan just told me. I'm not believing anything until I see his so-called ability with my own eyes. As the game progresses, I see Mido-lame-o take some threes and swish them with apparent ease. I decide that they're just lucky shots. But quickly, those couple of made threes turn into ten, eleven, twelves, and my head is starting to spin. Even when he's double-teamed, it doesn't matter one bit, he just keeps making shots like a machine. This guy is a friggin robot!

In the second quarter, Greeny picks up the half-court line and bends his knees. _What's he doing?_ Suddenly, he jumps straight up and launches a high projectile three that soars in, just like all of his other shots up close. I glance at Sa-chan. She doesn't seem that surprised, but she's watching Shin-chan with obvious apprehension and wonder. I glance behind me and see that even Aomine has put the magazine to the side and is giving the game and his former teammate some attention. Possibly aware of the audience, the Carrot on the Court stops at the endline at the very opposite side of his hoop and picks up his dribble. _You're kidding me right now… there's no way… in an actual game, when it's not even a buzzerbeater? He's going for a full court shot_! I keep telling myself there's no way, but then the Carrot launches the three and it soars in like it was just any other shot. Every player on the court in shocked. The coach drops his whistle. My jaw drops open. Sa-chan is absolutely stunned and even Aomine looks surprised.

As I look back towards the court, I am flooded with a new sense of admiration. Admiration for the Generation of Miracles. For their ridiculous set of skills that I haven't even scratched the surface in seeing yet. For Shutoku and the strong team they're clearly going to have this year. For Japanese basketball. And last of all, I can't help but be filled with a sudden respect and admiration for the superhuman shooter himself, Gree- I mean, Midorima Shintarou.


	16. The Team From Hell

_Forget the lottery. Bet on yourself instead._

 _-Brian Koslow_

 **Chapter 16**

 **Third Person POV**

After a difficult tryout, Midorima Shintarou was drenched with sweat. He was fatigued, yet absolutely confident that he had earned a starting position on Shutoku's squad as their shooting guard. After all, he obeyed Oha Asa and did everything humanly possible to secceed. He even had his lucky item, a birthday cake, kept safely hidden in his basketball bag. He performed expertly and now he was ready to go home. After showering and changing, Midorima lifted his bag, only to notice that it was much lighter than before. Upon peering inside, he discovered that his cake was nowhere to be found. Shocked, the green-haired boy abruptly dropped the bag. There was only one person to blame…

"TAKAO!" Midorima yelled in fury, knowing that the dark-haired bane of his existence was surely somewhere nearby. Sure enough, Takao popped out from behind a locker and stood before Midorima with a sly smile and a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Leaving so soon, Shin-chan?" Takao asked with raised eyebrows, feigning innocence and surprise.

"Return my lucky item at once and I will consider lessening your punishment for your crime." Midorima scowled at Takao, only causing the shorter boy to burst into laughter.

"So sorry, Shin-chan, but I won't return that cake unless you stay to watch the girls' tryout with me!" Midorima was taken-aback, and stepped back, stricken.

"What is the meaning of this? Stop this foolishness at once."

"You're making this difficult, Shin-chan. I swear I'll return the item if you stay. I promised Rose-chan I'd watch her tryout, and well, I can't reveal too much, but I think this is something you'll want to see." Takao hopped around giddily as Midorima's scowl deeped.

"I don't care about that unladylike creature, nor do I find anything she does of interest," Midorima began (and in the back of Takao's mind, he felt that Midorima's supposed disinterest seemed a little dubious), "but if this is what I must do to reclaim my lucky item… then so be it." WIth one last tip of his glasses, Midorima stormed out of the locker room, with sports and school bags in hand, followed closely by a skipping Takao, grinning like the chesire cat.

 **Rose's POV**

As soon as all of the boys leave the court, I leap over the bannister separating spectators and the athletes, and step onto the gleaming wooden surface. I can't stop smiling as I walk towards center court, where I assume the team will gather. I am clearly the first one here, and I can't help but wonder if I somehow made a mistake with the location or time. With a shrug, I figure the other girls must be changing.

I leave my water bottle at the bench and then return to the floor. I lay down on my back at center court, stretching out my limbs, trying to become one with my new home gym. I want to soak up every blemish and divot in the wood. I want to absorb the atmosphere and bottle it forever. I know I sound crazy, but I just can't help myself. Smiling softly, I get lost in my thoughts and space out, until I feel something looming over me. With a jolt, I sit up straight to see my captain, Sara Sano, and her expansive six foot something frame standing over me. She offers her hand with a smile and I grin back, accepting it, so that she pulls me up from my seated position.

"Hey Sara-senpai!"

"Just Sara is fine, Rose," she laughs at my still awkward use of honorifics. "Looks like you beat me, eh?" she continues.

"What can I say, I'm an eager beaver and the court is my dam." Sara gives me a weird look and I nearly facepalm as I realize how freakish I sound. Before I can, she lets out a laugh and pats me on the back.

"You're an interesting one, ya know that, kid?" I just shrug.

"Thank you?"

Before either of us can say anything else, an, um, interesting looking group of people start trickling over towards us. After there our seven of us, I keep waiting to see when the other girls will come out, but after a look at Sara I am slapped with the realization that this is it. Oh God, what have I gotten myself into?!

We form a circle and Sara stands at the center.

"Hi everyone. This is a better turnout than expected." My eyes widen and I almost laugh, before realizing that she's serious. I frown as she continues. "My name is Sano Sara, but you can call me Sara. I am a 190.5 cm (6'3") center and your captain. I am the only third year on this team, so I hope that you all will show me respect. Let's have some fun this year." She passed a measuring tape over to the girl on her left.

"Everyone introduce yourself. Make sure to give your name, grade, height, position, and goal for this season." The girl took the measuring tape from Sara and then tossed it behind the back to... an identical girl next to her? I blinked and rubbed my eyes, praying that these girls were identical twins and that I wasn't just some foreign racist who can't tell people apart. The girls have black hair tied into the same hairstyle-two high twintails and bangs- and both wear the same mischievous expression. Just by looking at them, I can tell that they're athletic. Even by the way one girl tossed the tape behind her back to the other, I could tell that they definitely have some skill on the court. I begin to get excited as my ears prick for their introductions. Maybe this team has some hope, yet.

"Hey everyone!" says the girl on the left, holding the measuring tape. "The name's Haru Kiko-"

"-and I'm Haru Yuriko" the girl on the right cuts in. I let out a sigh of relief, knowing now that they are, in fact, identical twins. I also can't help but smile a bit, as I realize that their parents must be obsessed with spring time, if you go by their names. I know that Haru means spring, and I think I can recall that Kiko means "chrysanthemum child" while Yuriko means "lily child" when translated from Japanese to English. The girls take a second to measure each other and then continue in their introduction.

"We're both 160 cm (5'3") second years. B cups." says Kiko. I hear Aomine scoff from under his magazine, while I only widen my eyes at the fact that they decided to include their bra size in their measurement.

"We're guards, but I guess we don't really care what position title you give us," adds Yuriko. I feel my eyebrows pull down as I try to understand what she means by that.

"The foreigner seems confused so we'll clarify," says Kiko, earning a nice glare from me. "We only pass to each other. We play at the same time or we don't play at all. And we don't take things seriously." I stand there, gaping.

"That's right, Kiko. While Shutoku's boys are know as the Kings of the North, the girls' team has a long history of sucking horribly. Our goals are to never take things seriously and to never pass to anyone else."

I can't believe my ears. I honestly feel like I could cry. Why didn't mom or dad tell me the school team here sucks?! And what's wrong with these girls, they're kinda jerks. Can I really go through with this? I don't know what-

"AH!"

I feel a jab in my side and wake up from my reverie to see that one of the twins has poked me. Oh. It's my turn to talk already, I guess. The twins start tossing the measuring tape back and forth between them, shouting something about monkey in the middle, but my fuse is already short, so I quickly snatch the tape out of midair (which causes them to pause in their taunts and look a bit surprised, I happily notice) and begin attempting to measure myself. That's super hard, though. After I struggle for a little, someone grabs one end up the tape for me. A heavyset girl looks at me emotionlessly and silently pulls the measuring tape down and all around me with surprising deftness and speed. Abruptly, she stops. She points to my height on the tape, and I grin when I notice that I've somehow had a growth spurt since leaving home.

"Hi everyone! The name's Matlin Rose, but I guess you can call me whatever you're comfortable with. I just moved here from the States and I've only been studying Japanese for a year so don't mind my poor pronunciations. I'm uh, a 5 foot, ah I mean 176 cm (5'9") shooting guard, but I can play wherever you need, and I am a first year. My goal is to be recruited for college basketball. And for us to do our best." With that, I finish my introduction and look over to the heavy girl next to me, who is still holding the measuring tape. It's her turn to speak, but she is still staring at me.

"...Matlin-san is also a D-cup." I choke on my own saliva at the heavy girl's deadpanned statement. I can't believe she told everyone that! And that can't be true, right? Unless… I guess that growth spurt affected everywhere on my body. This is _so_ embarrassing. My head instinctively whips around to the bleachers to see who's there and if they heard what was just said. Sure enough, Aomine Daiki is now sitting straight up, magazine strewn somewhere on the floor, leering at me creepily. Sa-chan is grinning, pointing to her chest then to mine and then giving me thumbs up, as if to say we're in some sort of boob club now (I guess now it's _my_ hugs that will crush people's ribs!), causing me to mentally facepalm. Takao is laughing his butt off (he's seated next to Sa-chan), and next to him Midorima's face is as red as a tomato and he looks like he'd rather be anywhere but here. But wait… why _is_ he here? And oh my God, all of these people heard that. I start to walk towards the locker room.

"Okay so, I'm gonna go die now, see you all never…" but Sara reaches out suddenly and holds me down in place with an iron grip. I sigh and then glare at the heavy girl, who stares straight-faced back.

"Tenshi Mai. 162.6 cm (5'4"). 113 kilograms (250 lbs). F-cup. First year. Position is unknown. My goal is to make my parents happy. They made me play a sport and for some reason, only basketball accepted my application. That's all."

We all stand rooted to the ground, stunned at Mai's nonchalant admission of her weight, bosom, and her deceivingly cutesy name (I mean seriously, _TENSHI_?! It means angel!). Girl's got guts… Big gut- ah sorry, that's mean, I suck, I know. Before I can slap and reprimand myself, the next girl begins speaking. She is really short, with long, black, wild curly hair tied into a low ponytail, big dark eyes, and a skin color comparable to Aomine's. I can't help but find her interesting and wonder if she's foreign too…

"Hi, I'm Eri. I'm a 140 cm (4'7")-" the girl next to her let out an obnoxious laugh at that, and I saw Eri grind her teeth before continuing in her introduction. "-first year point guard. I refuse to say my chest size, because it's just weird, and Sano-senpai didn't so I don't see why I should. My goal is to forge my own path and not live in anyone's shadow." I nod respectfully at her interesting goal, and I can't help but feel relieved to finally hear a normal person speak. However, the good vibe is swiftly ruined when the obnoxious laughter returns and that same annoying girl screeches:

"How can I girl so small not be in someone's shadow? Do you even make a shadow or are you too tiny to register?" I roll my eyes, because to be blunt, she sounds really stupid. "And what's your surname anyway, dear Eri-chan? You forget it?"

"...Oshiro," Eri spits out at her after a bit of a pause. She glowers at the girl in contempt, but the annoying girl takes no notices as she cackles once more (help, my ears are bleeding).

"Oshiro? As in "big castle"? Like Jojo Oshiro, the basketball player? As _if_!" The girl puts up her hand to Mai, as if waiting for a high five at her "clever" insults, but Mai just stares as the offending hand, expressionless. I couldn't help but notice that when the girl mentioned Jojo Oshiro, Eri winced.

Even I know the name Jojo Oshiro. He is a half African, half Japanese 6'10" basketball player who played for Japan's national team in FIBA and the Olympics and even played in the NBA for a few seasons. He's one of the best basketball players to ever come out of Japan. I did some research on him before I moved here, and the fact that he's an alum of Shutoku actually helped me choose this school, since I assumed both teams would have great prestige. I would have never imagined that the girls team would be so… so… so like this.

Annoying girl clears her throat in an attempt to recapture everyone's attention. "Hello, peasants. My name is Ichi Rei. Ichi means one, which is what I am in all areas. I am and must always be the best-"

"Doesn't Rei mean 'nothing/zero'?" Rei glares at me. I don't get why she's so full of herself. She's pretty plain looking and wears a lot of makeup. Her hair is in two fairly long and thick french braids. She hisses at me before continuing to introduce herself. "Ahem, as I was saying, I am Ichi Rei, Ichi-sama to all of you. I am 170.2 (5'7") first year with a heaping double D bosom, and my position is the ace! My goal is to have you all on your knees before me by the end of practice." Mai suddenly waddles over to Rei and starting measuring her all over, despite Rei screeching and clawing at Mai's large hands in an attempt to get her to stop. After a minute, Mai steps back with a bored look on her face.

"Ichi-san is 152.4 cm (5'0") with bra size A." We all start laughing, well, all of us except for Rei, at her lie exposed and the pitiful truth. I have now forgiven Mai and I think she's become my favorite person ever for that. Eri and I make eye contact and grin. Rei for sure got a swift kick in the rear from karma, just there, and we loved every second of it. After our laughter dies down, Sara clears her throat.

"Well then! Now that we know each other, let's begin. Is there anyone here that hasn't played basketball before?" Mai raises her hand. Rei's hand shoots up too, but she also blurts out that she's been great at every other sport so far, so this one won't take too long to master. Sara ignores her and continues speaking. "Okay, nice. So, we're actually going to start with scrimmaging today." Eri and I both can't help but let our surprise show. Don't these things usually start with drills, or even stretching? What's Sara up to?! "The teams are: the Harus and Rose-chan," I groan to myself, "-against Eri, Mai, and Ichi."

"Why am I the only one you call by surname? And why no honorifics?!" Rei whines.

"Because I don't like you," Sara replies with a smile. Scary! I definitely won't get on her bad side anytime soon.

"I will watch from the sideline evaluating you to determine how you will fit with the team," said Sara.

"Shouldn't the coach do that?" asked Eri. I was actually wondering the same thing…

"There, uh, actually is no coach," Sara replied sheepishly. "Ya see, people would always quit on us for one reason or another, so for now I'll act as captain and coach. Whether you like it or not, this is what will be." We nod and then separate into our teams. The Haru twins seem to be discussing something seriously nearby so I head over to see what they've been thinking of in terms of the game plan.

"-but you can't deny that Kuroo's whole bad boy thing is totally hot."

"Yeah, but in time, hotness turns into a saggy sack of skin just like anyone else. Ya need a reliable guy like Daichi who will sweep you off your feet-"

"Uh, what are you guys talking about?" the twins seem unamused by my interruption.

"Haikyuu," they respond simultaneously. Not sure what that means, but okay, then. I'll just look it up in the dictionary when I'm home. I shrug. "Maybe we should discuss game plan instead? We need to do what it takes to win!" The twins look at each other then burst out laughing, causing a tic mark to form on my head.

"Ha, yeah, sure! That's a good one! Here's the game plan, Americano. I pass to Yuriko-"

"-and I pass to Kiko-"

"-and you stand there and watch," they both finish simultaneously. Before I can argue, Sara sounds a buzzer and we head to tip off. I am taking it against Mai. When the ball is thrown up, she doesn't even jump for it (I don't think she knows what to do), so I easily tip it back to one of the twins.

"You're supposed to _jump_ for it, you hippo!" yelled Rei, like the obnoxious monster she is. Eri went over and shoved her in defense of Mai, but Rei just shoved back. They tackle each other and start wrestling on the ground.

"HEY! Now's our chance, let's take advantage and win!" I say to the twins, excitedly. But those jerks just ignore me. I'll admit that their athleticism and ball handling skills are undeniable. They easily dribble in circles and pass to each other behind the back and between the legs. Unfortunately, they only take trick shots and won't even look my direction. Mai is still standing at center court, Eri and Rei are now pulling each other's hair, and one twin puts the ball under her shirt as if she's pregnant while the other one then pretends to deliver it. Sara just watches silently. This… this is a circus, a mess. This is a disgrace to the sport I love and it's embarrassing that I have to be part of this. No more.

"Kiko. Yuriko. I challenge you to a two-on-one basketball match right here, right now." I grab them both my the shirt, not even caring that they're my senpais, just wanting this madness to end. "If I win, you need to stop and take things seriously. If I lose…" I pause and look over in the stands. Midorima looks pissed, Takao is still cracking up, Sa-chan looks shocked, and Aomine's back to being asleep under his magazine. Time to shift gears. "...if I lose, I'm quitting the team, quitting basketball forever. If I lose… I'll gouge out my eyes and give them to you." The twins look at me, totally confused, slightly alarmed. Mai stares at me emotionlessly and even Eri and Rei have paused in their cat-fight at my crazy proposal. I crack up. "Of course I wouldn't rip my eyes out, what kind of nut case would say or do something like that?!" I sober up, though. "But I _will_ walk out and never return if you beat me, I promise you that much." The twins look at each other smugly then nod at me.

"Looks like we have ourselves a bet."


	17. Player Profiles

***PLAYER PROFILES***

Name: Rose Matlin

Class: 1-A

Height: 176 cm/5'9"

Position: Shooting guard/power forward

Appearance: Light brown hair (w/some natural blonde highlights), light brown eyes, athletic/fit body with broad shoulders

Kind of Looks Like:  cc9e/f/2013/082/6/c/anime_sport_girl_by_ 

Name: Sara Sano

Class: 3-A

Height: 190.5 cm/6'3"

Position: Center

Appearance:

Kind of Looks Like:  . .full. 

. 

Name: Kiko Haru

Class: 2-C

Height: 160 cm/5'3"

Position: Small Forward

Appearance:

Kind of Looks Like:  /iVGfoxs

Name: Yuriko Haru

Class: 2-C

Height: 160 cm/5'3"

Position: Small Forward

Appearance:

Kind of Looks Like:  /iVGfoxs

Name: Mai Tenshi

Class: 1-B

Height: 162.6 cm/5'4"

Position: Center

Appearance:

Kind of Looks Like:  . /i/spire1/92d31c90adc56a3a1f378ab3cd27f2f81366201016_ 

Name: Eri Oshiro

Class: 1-B

Height: 140 cm/4'7"

Position: Point Guard

Appearance:

Kind of Looks Like:  . 

Name: Rei Ichi

Class: 1-F

Height: 152.4 cm/5'0"

Position: ?

Appearance:

Kind of Looks Like:

idiotsguides-com/image/upload/q_70,c_fill,h_560,w_1280/shoujo-manga-how-to-draw-a-nerd-girl_ 

(without glasses)


	18. Taking on the Twins

_"It is an endless procession of surprises. The expected rarely occurs and never in the expected manner."_

 _-Vernon A. Walters_

 **Chapter 17**

 **Third Person POV**

"Alright, since I clearly have a disadvantage here, I'll make the rules," Rose said, while the twins yawned in response. The were at center court. Rose stood holding a basketball, while the twin sisters sat braiding each other's twintails. Rose bristled.

"We're playing with normal rules, except it'll be make it, take it. Sara-senpai will referee and call the fouls. Half-court, your ball, let's go." Rose put the ball down at center court, before turning her back on the twins to walk confidently back to center court. She felt alive. She was ready to fight.

The Haru twins groaned before clasping hands and pulling each other up to a standing position. Kiko picked up the ball and began dribbling it, then spun it around on her finger. Rose stood at the free throw line, knees bent and arms spread open in defensive stance. She watched them carefully. Kiko passed sloppily behind her back to Yuriko, who dribbled lazily towards the basket.

"TRICK SHOT!" Yuriko yelled before turning away from the hoop and trying to shoot the ball while facing away from the hoop. Rose sighed before jumping up to easily snatch ball out of the air. Yuriko eyes widened a bit at that.

"Hey, that was rude!" she pouted at Rose.

"I think you should get on defense now," Rose said, with eyebrows raise, her tone almost chiding. She took the ball to a little beyond the three point line, giving her plenty of space to survey the court and all possible routes to attack. She observed the twins. Yuriko was standing straight up in the paint while Kiko did cartwheels on the side. Rose rolled her eyes before driving at Yuriko, who swiped lazily at the ball, missing completely. Rose drove right past her and easily scored a right handed layup. Yuriko looked a little put-out. Rose smirked at her as she dribbled the back back to the top of the arc.

"You're gonna have to try harder than _that_ if you want to win!" Rose's taunt caused the twins to frown. Kiko stopped her cartwheels and began stomping her feet, yelling "Come on, Yuriko, shut her down! Wipe that smirk off her face."

"Anyone can make a layup. You're nothing special!" Yuriko said to Rose. Even so, she got into an actual defensive stance, a bit more invested in the game. Rose's eyes darted to Yuriko's stance, and she smiled. Her eyes and body relaxed.

"Oh, are those girls in for it now!" Takao said with a laugh.

"What are you talking about, Takao? Don't be cryptic, _nanodayo_." Midorima asked him, annoyed.

"Dai-chan, wake up! Aho-mine, watch Ro-chan play!" Momoi grabbed Aomine's magazine and smacked him awake with it.

"Oi, Satsuki, let me sleep. This is boring, and that girl probably sucks." Takao smirked at Aomine, knowing that he couldn't be more wrong in his assessment of Rose's skill. He turned to Midorima but made sure he was loud enough for Aomine to hear him.

"Well, Shin-chan," Midorima scowled, Takao grinned. "I played one-on-one with Rose-chan the other day. I scored the first basket, but I think she let me." Midorima furrowed his eyebrows, and looked at Takao in confusion.

"I doubt that this is true. What was the final score?" Midorima asked with mild interest.

"11-1. She won." Takao's smile was tinged with slight embarrassment. Momoi looked surprised, while Aomine rolled his eyes. _This guy's probably just weak_ , he thought to himself. But Midorima was stunned. He knew that Takao was a strong basketball player and would not go down without a fight. He turned back towards Rose, watching intently. Rose couldn't feel any eyes on her, she couldn't hear or see anything besides what was on the court. Everything else just melted away. She was in her element. She was home.

"She's going to destroy them. That girl's like an animal out there, Shin-chan. It's awesome! But scary!" Takao was excited. Midorima could tell that, indeed, Matlin Rose seemed different. She exuded confidence and power. She wasn't being silly or acting stupid. She was intense and her eyes full of passion. For a brief moment, he felt his chest squeeze, but then it passed. He ignored the feeling. Midorima, Takao, Momoi, and even Aomine, watched.

Rose sprung into action, dribbling low and in control, coming straight at Yuriko. Yuriko smirked in triumph, it was clear that Rose was coming to a dead end. When Rose was about a foot away from Yuriko, she bounced the ball through her defender's legs, easily ran around the stunned girl, and took the ball to the hoop for another two points.

"She did that to me!" Takao said proudly. Midorima's eyes widened. _What is this?_ Momoi gasped. "Dai-chan...she's like you!" Even Aomine was shocked. Yes, that was a streetball move. Where did she learn it? How did she have the skill to do it? He was paying attention now. He was intrigued. Yuriko was shocked. She looked at Kiko, who nodded and came over. They were both going to play defense now, and they were sure that this is where they would stop Rose. Rose was happy that they finally seemed to be taking her seriously. She smiled.

"We're about to wipe that smile off of your face, you American _baka_! We weren't trying before, but now we will. You're doomed!" Yuriko proclaimed.

"Yeah, you don't have a chance. We let you have your run, but your luck runs out here," said Kiko, a smug look on her face.

"That was the last time I score two points, just so you know," Rose told them.

"Ehhh? Damn straight it is. Glad you're catching on!" Kiko said, incredulous.

Rose just shook her head. She dribbled expertly, weaving around the twins with agility and skill. She saw one of the twins positioned under the basket and drove right at her. She shot a layup just as Sara blew her whistle to call a foul.

" _Tweeeeet!_ Fouled on the basket. Count it! One shot."

Rose easily sunk the foul shot. She got the ball and set back up outside of the three point line. The twins stood like statues, baffled.

"Rose did this to me when we played. After her first layup, everything was a three point play. She's really good at drawing fouls...I still don't know what she's capable of," Takao said in awe. Midorima had to admit that he was impressed.

"How did she learn to play in this manner?" He asked Takao, but it was Momoi who responded.

"...I think I know. You see, when we first became penpals, she told me that she loved basketball. I was excited, so I sent her some film of Teiko. She was especially impressed with Dai-chan. I think that she must have spent the last year trying to copy some of his style and making it her own."

" _Sugoi!_ " replied Takao. Midorima nodded his head in agreement. They looked back at Rose.

"See, I meant that I'm only going to score _more_ than two-pointers. Sorry if that wasn't clear." Yuriko and Kiko were officially annoyed. They weren't going to lose to their _kouhai_. They were ready to do whatever it took to win. Rose genuinely smiled. She loved basketball and she loved competition. She was extremely stubborn and competitive, and always wanted to win, but she if she tried her hardest, she could accept the outcome. Rose drove at Kiko with her right hand and saw her defender's weight shift to the right side. Rose snapped the ball between her own legs and went the opposite direction, causing Kiko to fall completely. Yuriko came at Rose before she could reach the paint. Rose drew contact as she jumped from the elbow, making the jump shot while getting another foul called. She made the foul shot and completed another three point play.

"...I don't think that Aomine was the only one that she borrowed skills from, _nanodayo_ ," said Midorima. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Aomine, who had been silent, spoke up.

"She just...broke her defender's ankles. She pulled an Akashi. What the hell is going on?"

"You know, Dai-chan, the way she smiles when she plays, you can tell she Ro-chan loves the game. It reminds me of how you used to be," Momoi pointed out. Aomine had to agree. He walked Rose score another three point play before a small, genuine smile graced his lips.

"...Satsuki. I want to play her." Momoi's head whipped around to her childhood friend, she couldn't believe what she was hearing! And what was this look that he gave her penpal? Momoi was happy to see some childhood excitement in Aomine's eyes again. When they turned back to the game, the twins seemed to be running out of gas, while Rose didn't seem too winded.

"This is ridiculous. We're not going to foul you anymore, so HA! Good luck scoring now, layup queen!" Kiko taunted her. Kiko and Yuriko backed off, so that Rose was forced to shoot a three. Rose saw that there was no defense, so she shot from the top of the key. As soon as it left her hand, she frowned.

"It will miss," Midorima murmured under his breath.

"IT'S OFF!" yelled Rose. She sprinted to catch the rebound, which she easily did, since the twins were running low on energy. She decided to try again. Her three point shot was okay, but inconsistent. She needed to warm up to it. She shot, missed, and rebounded again. The twins could barely keep up. Rose took the ball to the top of the three point line again and took a deep breath. She lined up the right side of her body, help the ball tight, and followed through. As soon as the ball left her hand, she knew it would go in.

 _Swish_.

"That was-huff huff-clearly-huff-luck!" Yuriko panted out. When Rose took the ball at the top of the key, the twins knew that it was almost the end for them. They came at her with everything they had, and Rose saw an opportunity. When they rushed at her, she jumped into them while shooting the three. Sara blew the whistle, and shortly after, the ball soared through the net. They fouled her. Rose made the foul shot, and after completing the four point play, turned around to find the twins lying on the ground, completely out of breath. Rose smiled before jogging to the sideline to get her water bottle. She jogged back over to the twins and handed her water to them as a peace offering. The twin sisters glanced at each other before sharing the water. Then, they kneeled before Rose.

"Ro-sama, we apologize for our rudeness!" Kiko cried out.

"Yes, Ro-sama, we promise to try our hardest now and do your bidding." Rose blanched. _What is going on?!_

"...uh, okay?" she replied. The twins squealed and piled on top of her, causing Rose to groan and gasp for breath. Meanwhile, the spectators were silent. Takao looked proud, while Momoi looked both elated and surprised. Midorima's face was unreadable while Aomine's mouth was wide open in shock.

"Dai-chan, quit that. You'll catch flies." Momoi laughed at her friend. "Dai-chan, are you in _loooovve_?" Aomine glared at the pink haired girl next to him before smacking her on the back of the head.

"Shut up, Satsuki!" With that, Aomine got up and left the gym, Momoi running off after him. He spared one last glance at Rose and she met his gaze. In her eyes he saw a challenge. Finally, he may have found someone who he could play with all of his might. Aomine turned away and smiled.


	19. Eventful Mornings

***Author's Note: Thank you so, so much to everyone for their comments, follows, and favorites. I truly appreciate all of the** **feedback. I will continue to try to improve the story in every way that I can, and above all, I just really hope that you guys like it and that the silliness of many situations in the story make you smile. Thanks again, happy 2017!***

* * *

 _"The land of embarrassment and breakfast."_

 _\- Julian Barnes_

 **Chapter 18**

 **Rose's POV**

Yo dawg, it's Monday! I survived my first week of school and seemed to make a pretty good impression after my little two-on-one with the defeating them, they kind of worship me and are all touchy, and it freaks me out a bit, but I'm just glad to be respected. Also, my ego doesn't mind the stroking, heh heh. But yeah, it's kind of annoying, because they still don't really respect my other teammates and our team is still a mess. We don't have a coach, most of us still don't really get along that well, and all Sara does is observe and occasionally lead drills. I'm starting to grow suspicious, if I'm being honest. Why won't she play? You can only watch so many cat fights and trick shots. But whatever, we've only had like two practices, so it's probably just me reading into things.

I get along fairly well with Oshiro-chan. We have a mutual respect for each other. Although she didn't get the chance to really showcase it during tryouts, I have since seen her impressive ball handling skills firsthand. She's quick and feisty. Short temper, but nice girl. Plus, who _wouldn't_ snap with Rei pestering them constantly. After I beat the twins, she got all up in my grill and pointed her dumb finger in my face, saying: "Don't act all high and mighty, Maltin. I'll be honest, you're actually not very good. You made some lucky shots, but I'm way better." She didn't use honorifics with my name and she was totally obnoxious. To put her in her place, I played her then and there in one-on-one, a game to 11, and beat her in about a minute and a half, 11-0. After losing, she sputtered and looked kinda shocked before once more invading my personal space, claiming she let me win, declaring us rivals, and then storming away. When she went to leave, she whipped her head around, causing her dumb braids to whip me in the face.

"Your hair tastes like a hobo's butt, _Rei_!" I called after her, smirking at her retreating figure. Since then I've only called her Rei. I refuse to call her Ichi, because I'll be damned if I refer to her as "Number One," I don't care if it's her birth name. Rei suits her. Shutoku's little, annoying, Zero. Ha ha.

Tenshi-senpai is weird but I like her. I'm weird too, so I don't really have any room to judge. I think she's funny, and I absolutely love that her first name is Mai. I ran into Sa-chan and Aomine while grocery shopping over the weekend, and wasted no time asking Aomine what it was like finally meeting his beloved idol, Mai-chan, in the flesh. Before I could finish asking if her boobs were as good as they appeared in his gravure magazines, he threw a potato at my head and stormed off, causing Sa-chan to apologize profusely before running after him, yelling, "Dai-chan! We've been through this, it's rude to throw potatoes at people!"

These are the things I ponder on the Monday walk to school. I also can't help but wonder how many times Aho-mine has thrown potatoes as people. Is that a normal thing to do in Japan? There are clearly so many customs I have yet to learn about this mystical country. I take my time, basking in the sunlight, the fragrant spring cherry blossoms, with errant petals fluttering here and there, the bleary-eyed teens bidding farewell to their families as they begin a new week of learning. I was sad to leave my home in America. I'm still sad about being wrenched away from the familiar New England suburban colonial-style house I called home my whole life. But with the peaceful, almost picturesque, scene of a busy week's slow start, I cannot help but feel content, despite myself. I can be happy here.

Suddenly, a familiar green head of hair exits a house a block ahead on my right. I smile and jog a bit to catch up with him, so I am walking in step with the green haired giant.

"Midorima-kun, hey! Great job in the basketball tryouts last week, I had no idea you were so good." Midorima just glances down at me from the corner of his eye.

"Thanks," he says, his voice tinged with slight surprise and some other things I can't decipher. I tend to wear my emotions in my sleeve, and so as a result, I have never been very good at reading people when they hide theirs. Frowning in concentration, I reluctantly accept that I can't tell what he's thinking right now. So I shake my head and shrug the confusion away before smiling back up at the tall shooter.

"I can't believe those crazy threes you were making, you have to help me with my threes some time!" His only reply is a noncommittal grunt. Unsatisfied, I jab him in the side. He glares down out me, but only out of annoyance, not the hatred or dislike I sensed in his gaze during our first couple tutoring sessions and meetings.

"You're annoying." I just smile innocently up at him. He sighs.

"What do you want? Am I supposed to complement your playing as well?" I think he's being sarcastic, or at the very least, rhetorical, with his question, but I nod anyway. Midorima turns away from me and back to the sakura tree-lined sidewalk ahead of us. There's a pregnant pause before he breaks the silence.

"...you're pretty good, _nanodayo_." I look up at his face and am shocked to detect a slight pink tint on his cheeks. I smile softly as I realize he probably isn't the type to give out praise, and this is the closest I'll ever come to a complement from the star shooter.

"Thanks, Midorima-kun." His cheeks are still a bit pink. I bail him out with a change in subject.

"Is Midorima-kun ready for the big history presentation today? I hear that the grade with even affect our class ranking. Scary, _ne_? Ah, I really hope I can move up, judging by the entrance exams, I'm like number 60, but I feel like I've improved so much from then. You're number one, right? _Sugoi_ , congrats, Midorima-kun! But you'd better watch your back, because with the incredible presentation I have prepared, I think there's gonna be a new number one in town!"

"...Shut up. You're giving me a headache."

"Now, now Midorima-kun, that's not a nice way to talk to a lady!"

"...I do not see one around," he says, turning towards me with narrowed eyes. I gasp in shock before laughing out loud. I put my hand over my heart.

" _Ouch_ , Midorima-kun, I need ice for that burn. And here you said you don't make jokes. You're a weirdo but I think you're alright." I pat him on the back but he bats my hand away like it's a gnat after only the second pat. He turns forward again and seems a bit embarrassed but also pretty annoyed.

" _I_ am the weirdo here? Fool," he mutters under his breath.

"Ehhh, whatever," I say breezily. "You'll be eating your words when you see my presentation. I worked on it for hours and hours,

Midorima-kun. I'm proud of it! I feel like I really have a better understanding of history and culture as a result of the topic I've chosen!" I pause. "I bet you're dying to know what it is, right?" He just stares straight ahead silently, looking like he was willing me to disappear. Heh, not gonna happen! I step in front of him so he has to stop and look down at me. I grip the sleeves of his black uniform and grin mischievously. He looks at me with a bored and slightly alarmed expression, like I'm a bug he wants to get off of him or something (rude!).

"Jeez, stop pestering me about it, man! No matter how many times you beg me to tell you, it's gonna be a surprise, and I have a feeling you will be _quite_ impressed!" I wink up at him while he just stands there looking completely confused and aggravated.

"Kuru-nii, look at that couple! Are they in _looooovvee_?!" I quickly drop my hands from Midorima's sleeves as we whip our heads around to some random little pig-tailed girl, probably in elementary school, being walked to school by her older brother. He has an impish face and wears a white, Teiko Middle School uniform. "I think so, Kimi-chan! Quick, cover your eyes in case they decide to kiss. You're much too young for your innocent mind to be tainted!" As little Kimi obediently covers her eyes, I just stand there, shocked and embarrassed, while Midorima's face is completely red.

"WE AREN'T DATING!" He yells (quite rudely, if I'm being honest) at the siblings, completely mortified and quite flustered, before briskly speed-walking (running would have been unrefined, I guess. Weirdo.) off towards school, not sparing a single glance back in my direction. After asking if the coast was clear, the little girl uncovers her eyes. She and her brother look at each other and grin, before making a left towards their respective schools.

What an odd start to the day. I smile to myself. Everything is proving to be pretty weird here in Japan so far. I guess I'm fitting right in, then. Shaking my head to clear my mind of the odd encounter I just had with Midorima and those randos, I spend the remainder of my walk to school basking in the first rays of early morning sunset and contemplating how many licks it truly does take to get to the center of a tootsie pop.


	20. Just An Average Day at Shutoku High

_"Insanity is knowing that what you're doing is completely idiotic, but still, somehow, you just can't stop it."_

 _-Elizabeth Wurtzel_

 **Chapter 19**

 **Rose's POV**

All of the lights in the classroom are off. Suddenly, a spotlight shines on me from the back of the room. I am facing the blackboard. Besides my sailor-style school uniform, I'm sporting a black cape, a black top hat, and supah cool John Lennon-esque circular sunglasses. I slowly lower my right pointer finger towards my boombox, which rests on a stool next to me. Once I press play, the opening bars of "The Final Countdown" blast powerfully, slicing through the room's silence, and signaling the start of my presentation.

 _Duh duh duh duh, duh duh duh duh duh!_

"This is ridiculous, nanodayo!"

"Shhhhh!"

 _Duh duh duh duh, duh duh duh duh duh duh duh, duh duh duh, duh duh duh duh duh duh duhhhh…_

"...Where did those spotlights come from?"

I glanced behind my back to see the Haru twins wave from behind the spotlights, their Cheshire cat grins shining almost as brightly as the lights they were shining on me.

"Shouldn't you two imbeciles be in class?"

"GODDAMN IT MIDORIMA, SHUT YOUR GODDAMN MOUTH AND WATCH A MASTER AT WORK"

"...Yes sir, Itami-sensei".

 _Ohhhhhhh, the final countdown!_

I whip around to view my enchanted audience. I bring the microphone (I carried it to school in my backpack! Pretty sweet, right?) to my lips and begin my presentation.

"I would like to welcome you, the good people of class 1-A, to Matlin Rose's Epic History Presentation!"

The classroom (minus one) erupted in supportive cheers. I pause, waiting for silence.

"Prepare yourselves for a thrilling ride. This is what you've all been waiting for! Lend me your ears as I tell you the harrowing tale that is the history of the Dab." I shut off "The Final Countdown" and clear my throat. From the inside of my cape, I pull out a stack of index cards before flipping up the sunglasses part of my John Lennon shades so that they become bifocals.

"The dab is a dance move in which the-"

I am interrupted by a pair of hands slamming on a desk. "This is ridiculous, _nanodayo_! What is wrong with you people?" Midorima's chair clatters to the ground when he shoots up from his seat. Before I can even react at this rude and uncalled for interruption, Itami-sensei comes to my rescue.

"Oi, Midorima, if you walk out this door and away from this incredible presentation, I'm automatically giving you a zero." After hearing Itami-sensei's harsh threat, Midorima's face contorts into a grimace. He delicately picks his chair up from the ground and sits back down while muttering something about "the Twilight Zone" and being "the only sane person in a school of lunatics, _nanodayo_ ". Takao just laughs at him and gives me a thumbs up.

"Maltin-sama, please continue, I am dying to learn more about this 'dab' that you speak of!" Itami-sensei gives me an encouraging smiles, and with this, I jump back into my presentation.

"Ah, uh, where was I? Oh, right. Ahem… The dab is a dance move in which the dancer simultaneously drops the head while raising an arm and the elbow in a gesture that has been noted to resemble sneezing. The dab has its origins in the Atlanta hip-hop scene, but there was initially disagreement about who originated the dance…"

 ***Twenty Minutes Later…***

"...and with your head in the crook of your bent elbow with your other arm sticking straight out to the side of you, yes, you've got it! Congratulations, you are all dabbing!" The whole class, excluding Midorima, but including Itami-sensei, is dabbing after I instruct them on how to do so. Takao tries to lift Midorima's arms into the dab position, but Midorima smacks Takao's hands away, growling "Get off of me, baka Takao!" causing Takao to whine, "Shin-chan is no fun!". I smile and regard the classroom.

"And there you have it, folks. With this I conclude my history presentation on the ancient art of the Dab." As I bow to my classmates, teacher, and two older teammates, I am engulfed in applause. I smile and return to my desk. Itami-sensei comes to the front of the room, a grin stretching across his wrinkled face.

"Bravo! What an excellent presentation, what a show. Only the best to be expected from our new American classmate." The old man dabs (I have to cover my mouth to stifle a laugh at how ridiculous he looks. Midorima rolls his eyes next to me) before looking at his list. The smile quickly falls from his face, and Itami-sensei's expression morphs back into his usual narrow eyed, stern frown as he announces:

"Next, Midorima Shintarou. Good luck following that. You'll need it."

"Ne, Shin-chan" Takao whispers, jabbing Midorima in the rib, causing the green haired boy to glare and smack his grinning teammate's hand away. "I think that Itami-sensei might hate you!"

"Don't be stupid, _nanodayo_. He just is playing favorites. He knows that I am Shutoku's top first year."

"Not for long!" I say brightly, smirking at him. Takao grins at me before turning back to Midorima.

"Uh, Shin-chan, what planet do you live on? He clearly doesn't respect you, he doesn't even use an honorific after your name. He haaaaatttteees you!" Takao laughs in Midorima's face at that, causing the greenette to develop a tic mark on his forehead. With a final glare at Takao and me, Midorima rises and walks to the front of the room.

"Thank you, Itami-sensei."

"Get on with it, temeeeee!" I titter at my teacher's clear irritation towards my bespectacled classmate.

"Kazu-kun, isn't he a bit too abrasive to be a first year teacher?" I whisper at Takao, putting my hand over my mouth so Itami-sensei can't hear.

"You know, Rose-chan, he actually kind of reminds me of Shin-chan. Shin-chan can be sooo mean!" Takao puts his hands on his face and pouts while I nod in agreement. They're both pretty harsh, but only one of them loves me. I smirk at Midorima and blow him a kiss. He visibly cringes and blushes a bit before adjusting his glasses. He takes out a stack of index cards and begins his presentation.

"As all of you should know, I am Midorima Shintarou. I will be making a history presentation on the history of Red Bean Soup." My jaw drops and now it's my turn to stand up and protest the topic.

"Oi, Midorima-kun, you make fun of my project, but then you go and give a presentation on soup?! You're unbelievable, man!" Midorima just stares at me. Ha, if looks could kill…

My classmates start making sounds of agreement with my outburst. The twins, who for some reason are still in the back of the room standing behind their (now shut-off) spotlights, start booing, and then Itami-sensei joins in, causing the rest of my classmates to boo as well. Midorima stands there, seething in rage yet also completely befuddled by his current situation. I take pity on him after a minute, and turn towards my classmates.

"Hey guys, cut it out okay, please. This isn't fair to Midorima-kun, he seems very, almost creepily passionate about Red Bean Soup, but maybe it's for a reason. Maybe it's secretly super cool. Guys, let's give him a chance." For a few moments (which feel like an eternity), the room is silent and all eyes rest on me. But our little impromptu mannequin challenge breaks when Takao stands on his chair and says "Oh captain my captain!" before dabbing. Several classmates follow suit and Itami-sensei nods and dabs in solidarity. We all sit and give Midorima our undivided attention. Bewildered, angry, and exhausted, Midorima sighs, pushes up his glasses, and then in a defeated tone, continues on his riveting history of Red Bean Soup. Just another average day at Shutoku High.


	21. Let The Games Begin

_"It is nice to have valid competition; it pushes you to do better."_

 _-Gianna Versace_

 **Chapter 20**

 **Rose's POV**

I enter my homeroom, only to be met with uncharacteristic silence. Nearly everyone is present, frozen in their casual stances around the room, waiting for class to begin, waiting for sensei to enter begin today's lesson, waiting for… what?

I see that everyone seems to be staring at something towards the front of the room. My eyes slowly follow the invisible thread stretching from my classmates' eyes to the center of attention, which is not some _thing_ , but some _one_. Everyone seems to be staring at none other than Midorima Shintarou. The air is thick with tension, and I see that Midorima is shaking. He is sitting at his desk, with eyes closed, and a pencil sitting within one of his clenched fists.

Oh, I get it. He's angry.

I've gotta admit, I'm a little puzzled by this. The whole in-class presentation fiasco happened a whole week ago, and he seemed to be over it after a day or two. Did he have a bad weekend? Rough night of sleep, perhaps? The runs, maybe? I'm about to ask when Takao runs through the door and nearly crashes into me as he abruptly skids to a halt. Excitedly, he grabs my shoulders and shakes me, a grin on his face.

"Kazu-kun, what's going on? You're jostling my brain around!" Takao retracts his hands quicker than expected and smirks.

"Well, we wouldn't want that now, would we?"

"Huh?" I reply, oh so eloquently. Why's he being so cryptic? Takao grins and does two peace signs.

"What, you're telling me you haven't looked yet? In that case, you should probably check the-"

 _Snap._

The pencil that was once cradled within Midorima's fist has now snapped in two, and I am thoroughly confused, also a little scared. I take a small step back and let out an involuntary gasp when Midorima's eyes snap open and focus on me. Ohhh, he's not angry. He's _furious_ ; royally pissed! Is he gonna beat me up? Does his green hair mean he eats lots of spinach, like Popeye, and therefore has the crazy strength of a post-spinach Popeye? Because I can't compete with that! Crap, what'd I do to be the focus of Green Bean's wrath?!

Takao drags me out of the room, pulling on the back of my uniform shirt, thus breaking my eye contact with Midorima and saving me before the Green Haired Giant can lunge at me like an animal.

"Oi, Takao, not so-"

Takao plants me in front of our board and I blink at the rows of kanji before I realize what it is. My eyes widen and I can't help but let my jaw drop dramatically.

"Careful, Rose-chan, you'll catch flies like that!" I ignore him. The board displays the new rankings for first year Shutoku students. Below that, it reads:

 _Matlin Rose_

 _Midorima Shintarou_

"He's gonna kill me," I mutter to myself.

"Yep!" exclaims Takao happily, shooting me a 'nice guy pose,' that suddenly gives me the urge to smack him. "Don't be so glum, Rose-chan. This is incredible! You're number-"

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" a shrill voice shrieks, effectively raping my eardrums. Oh, great, just what I need right now.

"How could an all-around genius like me, _the_ Ichi Rei- _sama_ , be ranked 99th in the grade?! There has to be some mistake!" Rei is shaking some poor, random boy who clearly has neither any authority over this situation, nor any clue who she is, when she realizes that I am standing nearby. Rei suddenly smirks, as if I didn't see her just have a giant meltdown, and struts over to me.

"Takao" Rei greets my friend with a wink, causing him to shudder. She doesn't notice, and instead flips a braid arrogantly over her shoulder before focusing on me.

"Well, well, if it isn't Matlin the 'Merican Muffintop!"

"What the frick does _that_ mean?!" I ask, more confused than offended by her bizarre… insult? I guess it's an insult. Is she calling me a muffintop or saying that I have one?

Before I can ponder this strange nickname any longer, Rei snaps her fingers a bunch of times in my face.

"Earth- _snap_ -to- _snap_ -loser!- _snap, snap._ Find your name on the board before you spaced out, or are you just too sad to find it at the very bottom. Don't cry… unless I have a camera to capture the moment! Ha, I'm _sooo_ bad!" I just stare at her with a blank look on my face. _That idiot_ …

"Yeah, so I don't know if you heard, but I'm in the top half of the class, so yeah, I'm like a million times smarter and better than you, Matlin."

"Oh, Rei-chan!" Takao chimes in, drawing both of our attention and breaking a bit of the tension. "Congrats on that ranking. 99th out of 200 just barely is the top half of the class after all, eh? How exciting!" I want to hug Takao when I see Rei's eye twitch a little at his deceptively sharp comment. _What a good friend!_ My inner self sobs happily. Takao, however, isn't quite finished. He leans in close to Rei, causing her to blush.

" _Ne_ , Rei-chan, wanna see something cool?" She nods excitedly, leaning in a little more.

"Look here!" Takao points to the top of the list, my name. Rei rushed over to get a closer look, and her previous excitement quickly dissipated to an unbridled fury reminiscent of Midorima's from just a few moments ago.

"No…" Rei whispers to herself. I elbow Takao in the ribs.

"You're kinda evil when you want to be, Kazu-kun." He just mouths "you're welcome," before beginning to retreat. I start to follow, because at this point, Rei has dropped to her knees and is screaming "Nooo!" at the top if her lungs, saying that this has to be a mistake and blah blah and how her "inferior rival," which I assume is me, could never be number one because her name _is_ number one, and blah blah blah. Takao and I just escape quietly back into our classroom. Breathing a sigh of relief, I turn to walk towards my desk, only to find that the room has been, uh, rearranged.

While we were absent, the rest of the class managed to scoot their desks back so that they were hugging the wall, leaving a little island in the center, consisting of only three desks: mine, Takao's, and… Midorima.

The Green Bean has this crazy aura radiating off him, and I swear that if I squint, I can almost make out little kanji saying "Die, die, die, die, die" floating in an angry cloud around his body. I decide to just bite the bullet and try to smooth things over by walking up to Midorima, who has returned to his eyes-shut, fists-clenched position, and sticking my hand out towards him.

"Hey Midorima-kun, uh, I'm sorry about this happening and all, but I was just trying my best, and it was never my intent to anger you or whatever, so um, no hard feelings?" His eyes snap open and he regard my hand as if it's a dirty, subway rat.

"Die." Well, that was rude! Bolstered by his jerkiness, a tic mark appears on my forehead and a grab him by the front of his uniform and start shaking him.

"GET OVER IT AND WORK HARDER, TEME! IF YOU WANNA SETTLE THIS ONCE AND FOR ALL, MEET ME AFTER PRACTICE ON THE COURT AT 6PM SHARP!" I stare at him with wild eyes, watching his unreadable, impassive face, waiting for an answer.

"Fine," he finally says, and that's that. The class collectively releases a sigh, and everyone scuttles about to rearrange their desks to their former positions, just as the final bells chime and Itami-sensei enters the classroom.

"Good morning, Number 2!" Itami-sensei greets Midorima with a small smirk. Takao guffaws, Midorima grips his desk so hard that he's probably left his handprint on the sides forever, and I can't help but smile as I look forward to finally facing one of Teiko's famous Generation of Miracles.

Let the games begin.


End file.
